James E. Bishop

An experienced investment banker, real estate developer, broker and, former president of one of the nations largest publicly traded hotel companies. Mr. Bishop earned a degree in Finance (secondary emphasis in Econometrics and Accounting) from Georgia State University in Atlanta.

After four years of active duty in the United States Air Force, Mr. Bishop joined the investment banking firm of Bache Halsey Stuart, Inc. and later, E.F. Hutton & Company, then Oxbridge Partners, where he developed the firms' hospitality and real estate financing business and international mortgage securitization programs for institutions such as the Federal National Mortgage Association, International City Holdings, York Trust, PLC and Sonesta Hotels and Resorts, Inc.

More recently, he served as President of Janus Hotels and Resorts, Inc. Under his five years of leadership, Janus was transformed from a bankrupt ocean shipping company into one of the country's largest real estate oriented hotel and resort owner-operators. Mr. Bishop increased the company's share value from $0.38 to a high of $7.00. His responsibilities as President and Chief Operating Officer included: strategic planning, S.E.C. reporting, negotiation of acquisitions and dispositions, franchise agreements, management agreements, joint ventures, collective bargaining agreements and the management of all development projects.

Current assignments, with WhiteStar, include acting as fiduciary consultant relating to the completion, flagging, operator selection, opening and operations of the 998 room Westin Diplomat Hotel, Resort and Spa in Hollywood, Florida, which includes over 200,000 square feet of meeting space, an 18-hole golf course, a 30,000 square foot spa, two marinas, over 50,000 square feet of retail space and two additional development sites. Additional current projects include responsibility for the design, development, construction and operation of a major mixed-use facility in Hamilton, Bermuda, the acquisition of a portfolio of office buildings in Florida and New Jersey and acting as general partner of a mixed used development in California consisting of a luxury resort hotel, two championship, 18-hole golf courses, condominiums, an office complex and a single-family housing development overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

To contact Jim: jbishop@whitestarllc.com