Robert L. Johnson is the Founder and Chairman of The RLJ Companies, an innovative business network that owns or holds interests in a diverse portfolio of companies in the banking, private equity, real estate, hospitality, professional sports, film production, gaming and automobile dealership industries. In July 2007, Mr. Johnson was named by USA Today as one of the 25 most influential business leaders of the past 25 years.

Core assets of The RLJ Companies include:

• RLJ Development, LLC, a privately held real estate investment company that acquires and develops upscale select service hotels in major markets in North America. RLJ Development, LLC, currently owns 124 hotels with more than 17,000 guest rooms and a portfolio value of approximately $2.6 billion, and has in excess of $2.2 billion in equity under management from several major public and corporate pension funds and financial institutions.
• RLJ Equity Partners, LLC, was founded in partnership with The Carlyle Group and specializes in middle-market leveraged buyouts, leveraged recapitalizations and growth equity. RLJ Equity’s strategy is to make control investments in companies with enterprise values between $50M and $300M within the aerospace/defense; automotive/transportation; business services; consumer/retail; general industrial; and media sectors. RLJ Equity Partners Fund I closed at the end of June 2009 with $230M of capital.
• Urban Trust Bank (UTB) operates as a federally chartered savings bank, providing financial services to diverse, underserved urban communities. Headquartered in Orlando, FL, UTB currently operates 25 branches across Central Florida and the Washington, DC region, including two stand-alone branches and 23 branches within affiliate Wal-Mart stores. One of the fastest-growing minority-controlled banks in the country, UTB has an asset value of $720M and is considered a well-capitalized institution.
• RolloverSystems, a financial services company based in Charlotte, NC, is the leading provider of outsourced retirement plan rollover services for financial services institutions, plan sponsors and third-party administrators. RolloverSystems provides 401(k) and IRA rollover services for terminated employees leaving their current employer for a new job or retirement. RolloverSystems improves fiduciary risks for employers by offering full-service “outplacement” services to terminated employees, and reduces costs and administrative burdens of tracking and maintaining benefits for terminated employees.
• RLJ Western Asset Management, LLC, is the only minority-owned entity designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as a pre-qualified fund manager to participate in the Public Private Investment Fund Program (PPIP). The PPIP program is designed to allow banks and other financial institutions to redeploy capital and extend new credit to households and businesses.
• RLJ-McLarty-Landers Automotive Group is a partnership between The RLJ Companies and McLarty Landers Automotive. Headquarted in Little Rock, AR, RLJ-McLarty-Landers consists of 19 auto dealerships and three Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealerships across central Arkansas. RLJ-McLarty-Landers currently has 35 automotive franchises within its portfolio and projects an estimated gross revenue for FY09 of $625M.
• Bobcats Sports & Entertainment, which is comprised of the franchise and arena operations, is a professional basketball team and member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Bobcats debuted in 2004 and is a part of the Southeast Division of the NBA’s Eastern Conference. The Bobcats play home games at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC. The RLJ Companies, through Robert Johnson, is the majority owner of the Bobcats, and Michael Jordan is managing partner and oversees basketball operations.
• Caribbean CAGE, LLC, is a route-installed gaming company headquartered in Puerto Rico that focuses on the installation, operation and management of video lottery terminals (VLTs), linked gaming systems and game content throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. CAGE has entered into several strategic alliances to install and operate VLTs in targeted Caribbean countries with the goal of enhancing local economies and employment opportunities.
• Our Stories Films, LLC, is the first African American owned film production studio that produces theatrical motion pictures that showcase the talents of African Americans on both sides of the camera and in the creative process. Founded in 2006, Our Stories Films is headquartered in Hollywood, CA, and targets underserved, urban audiences within the family and urban comedy genre with a production budget of $5M–$7M per film.
• The RLJ Kendeja Resort & Villas is a 78-room villa style hotel located on 13 acres of oceanfront property overlooking the Atlantic Ocean outside of Monrovia, Liberia. The four-star luxury resort is the first of its kind in Liberia and one of the first in all of West Africa. Construction began in March 2008, and the resort property opened in June 2009.

Prior to forming The RLJ Companies, Mr. Johnson was Founder and Chairman of Black Entertainment Television (BET), the nation’s first and leading television network providing quality entertainment, music, news, sports and public affairs programming for the African American audience. Under Mr. Johnson’s leadership, BET became the first African American owned company publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2001, Mr. Johnson sold BET to Viacom for approximately $3 billion and remained the Chief Executive Officer through 2006.

Currently, Mr. Johnson serves on the following boards:

KB Home

Lowe’s Companies, Inc.

Strayer Education

International Management Group

NBA Board of Governors

Deutsche Bank Advisory Committee

The Business Council

Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture

Mr. Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in social studies from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in international affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.