Hasu P. Shah

Mr. Hasu P. Shah has been the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and a Trustee of Hersha Hospitality Trust since the Company’s inception in May 1998 and was the Company’s Chief Executive Officer until his retirement in 2005. He is also a Senior Partner of the Hersha Group of Companies, based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. Hasu Shah began his career in lodging with the purchase of a single hotel in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1984. Over the last 30 years, he has developed, owned, or managed over 50 hotels across the Eastern United States and led other businesses in general construction, purchasing and hotel management. He has been recognized for both his business accomplishments and his philanthropic endeavors, including the Entrepreneur of the Year award given by Ernst & Young LLP and the Central Penn Business Journal Hall of Fame award for lifetime achievements in both business and philanthropy.

Mr. Hasu Shah and his wife, Hersha, are active members of the local community and remain involved with charitable initiatives in India. In 2010, he was honorably bestowed with the National United Way Tocqueville Society award, the highest honor given for philanthropic work across the country. Mr. Hasu Shah has been an active Rotarian for more than 25 years and continues to serve as a trustee of several community service and spiritual organizations including Vraj Hindu Temple and the India Heritage Research Foundation. He also received an honorary Doctorate of Public Service (DPS) degree from Harrisburg Area Community College. Mr. Hasu Shah received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Tennessee Technical University and obtained a master’s degree in public administration from Pennsylvania State University, which named him as a Fellow. He is an alumnus of the Owner and President’s Management program at Harvard Business School.