Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. announced that Rob Hays, the current Chief Executive Officer of Ashford Trust, will be stepping down effective June 30, 2024 after nearly 20 years of dedicated service to the Company. The Company's current Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance & Strategy, Stephen Zsigray, age 38, will succeed him at that time to become Ashford Trust's Chief Executive Officer, effective June 30, 2024. Mr. Hays will spend the next few months working alongside Stephen on a smooth transition before pursuing plans to work with his father on a unique business opportunity in an industry outside of real estate.

Stephen Zsigray currently serves as Ashford Trust's Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance & Strategy, a position he has held since May 2020. Mr. Zsigray also heads Ashford Inc.'s cash management platform and oversees corporate hedging strategy. Since 2020, Mr. Zsigray has helped the platforms raise more than $1.2 billion in common and preferred equity, secure over $1.0 billion in new corporate and property-level debt financing and negotiated maturity extensions on over $3.0 billion in mortgage debt.

Additionally, Mr. Zsigray serves as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Stirling Hotels & Resorts, a position he has held since November 2023. Mr. Zsigray joined Ashford in 2014 as a trader and portfolio manager in Ashford's investment management division, and subsequently served as President and Chief Operating Officer of OpenKey, an Ashford-affiliated hospitality technology company that provides digital guest key and access control solutions to hotels worldwide. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Zsigray was with UBS Investment Bank in New York, where he traded and helped clients structure derivatives across equity, fixed income, and commodity markets.

He began his career with Deloitte Consulting in St. Louis, where he advised Fortune 500 clients on issues related to mergers and acquisitions, business transformation, and process improvement. Mr. Zsigray earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Saint Louis University, and graduated from Indiana University'sKelley School of Business with an MBA in Finance.

He currently serves on the Advisory Council for the North Texas Food Bank and has advised a number of non-profit organizations in the Dallas metroplex. Mr. Zsigray previously served as an Executive Board Member of the Dallas Security Traders Association.