Hospitality Net

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. | Hilton Hotels Corporation (Hilton) today announced the appointment of Paul J. Brown as President, Global Brands and Shared Services. Mr. Brown will report to Hilton’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher J. Nassetta, and will be responsible for leading Hilton’s brands and shared services platform. Mr. Brown joins Hilton from Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE), the world's leading online travel company, where he served as President of both Expedia North America and of the Partner Services Group. He will be based in Beverly Hills and assume his position on December 8, 2008.

Mr. Nassetta commented: “Paul’s depth of experience in the travel and hospitality industry and his expertise gained as an international management consultant will be of tremendous value to Hilton as we continue to grow our Family of Brands. Having successfully managed brand and marketing services for some of the world’s best known hotel and travel related companies, Paul will be a welcome addition to Hilton and his appointment rounds out our senior management team.”

Paul J. Brown brings more than 15 years of experience to his role at Hilton. Most recently, he served as President of Expedia North America and of Expedia’s Partner Services Group, where he increased revenues and profits and successfully relaunched Expedia’s brand and marketing campaigns.

Prior to Expedia, Mr. Brown was a partner at McKinsey & Company. Based in London, he led the firm’s global travel and hospitality practice and served clients in all sectors of the travel and hospitality business. Before that, Mr. Brown was at InterContinental Hotels Group, where he served as Vice President of Strategic Planning before being promoted to Senior Vice President of global brand services. Previously, he was a manager with The Boston Consulting Group.

Mr. Brown holds a Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, a Masters in Engineering Management from Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia Tech. He is an advisory board member for the Cornell University School of Hotel and Restaurant Management and serves on the boards of directors for the World Travel & Tourism Council, Travel Industry Association of America, and Lanier Parking Systems, LLC.

About Hilton | Hilton Hotels Corporation is the leading global hospitality company with more than 3,000 hotels and 500,000 rooms in 74 countries and territories, including 135,000 team members worldwide. The company owns, manages or franchises a hotel portfolio of some of the best known and highly regarded brands, including Hilton®, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites Hotels®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hilton Grand Vacations®, Homewood Suites by Hilton® and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection®. The Hilton Family of Hotels adheres to founder Conrad Hilton’s philosophy that, “It has been, and continues to be, our responsibility to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality.” The company put a name to its unique brand of service that has made it the best known and most highly regarded hotel company: be hospitable®. The philosophy is shared by all brands in the Hilton Family of Hotels, and is the inspiration for its overarching message of kindness and generosity.