Robert L. Johnson
Chairman
Mr. Johnson is the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of RLJ. Mr. Johnson is also the Founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Black Entertainment Television (“BET”), a leading African-American operated media and Entertainment Company in the United States, which was sold to Viacom for approximately $3 billion in January 2001. Mr. Johnson has held longstanding senior roles in a number of industries, serving on the boards of directors of Strayer Education, Hilton and US Airways. Mr. Johnson holds a majority interest in RLJ Development, a privately held hotel real estate investment company, and RLJ Urban Lodging Fund I and II, which combined manage over $1 billion in institutional capital to make private equity real estate investments.  In late 2005, Mr. Johnson launched RLJ Select Investments, a hedge fund-of-funds venture in association with Deutsche Bank AG and Urban Trust Bank, a regionally based commercial bank.

R. Kenneth Bryant
Managing Director
Mr. Bryant joined RLJ Equity Partners from The Wicks Group of Companies, a media focused, middle market private equity firm with nearly $1.0 billion of assets under management, where he was a Principal.  While at Wicks, Mr. Bryant focused on investments in education, publishing and business services.  He also has been a Director at Enron Corp., and a Project Manager at the New York City Economic Development Corporation.  Mr. Bryant earned an A.B. from Harvard College, an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Daphne J. Dufresne
Managing Director
Ms. Dufresne joined RLJ from Parish Capital Advisors where she was a Venture Partner managing the direct investment and co-investment program. Formerly, Ms. Dufresne was a Principal at Weston Presidio Capital, a private equity organization with $3.4 billion of assets under management.  She also served as Associate Director in Bank of Scotland's Structured Finance Group.  Ms. Dufresne received her BSE from the University of Pennsylvania and her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Rufus H. Rivers
Managing Director
Mr. Rivers joined RLJ from Carlyle Mezzanine Partners, LP, a $436 million investment fund, where he was a Co-Founder and Managing Director.  Prior to founding Carlyle Mezzanine Partners, Mr. Rivers was a SVP/Principal at TCW/Crescent Mezzanine, LLC a $2.5 billion firm.  He also served as Group Credit/Investment Officer of Heller Financial, Inc.  Mr. Rivers received his BA from Morehouse College and his MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.

Nigel Howard
Vice President
Nigel M. Howard joined RLJ Equity Partners from TA Associates, a growth-oriented private equity firm with approximately $12 billion under management.  At TA, Mr. Howard focused on leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and growth capital investments in the business services, consumer products and services, and financial services sectors.  Mr. Howard received a BBA degree with a concentration in Finance from Howard University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and Valedictorian of the School of Business, and an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School.

Jerry L. Johnson
Vice President
Mr. Johnson joined RLJ from American Capital, a publicly traded alternative asset manager with over $16 billion of assets under management.   Prior to joining American Capital, Mr. Johnson was a Vice President in the Financial Sponsors and Private Equity Group at Bank of America. He also served as a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. Mr. Johnson began his career with Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette and prior to that he was with McKinsey & Company.  Mr. Johnson received his B.S. from the University of Tennessee and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

T. Otey Smith
Vice President
Mr. Smith joined RLJ from Reliant Equity Investors, a lower middle-market private equity fund, where he was Senior Associate and a founding professional.  Prior to Reliant, Mr. Smith was an Analyst in Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Goldman Sachs.  He also spent a summer as an Associate in Business Development at ESPN New Media Group.  Mr. Smith received his BA from Morehouse College and his MBA from Harvard Business School. 

Dwayne Boothe
Associate
Mr. Boothe joined RLJ Equity Partners in 2008 as an Associate. Prior to joining RLJ, Mr. Boothe was employed by Allied Capital, a private equity investment firm with over $4.5 billion under management.  Mr. Boothe also worked in the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse First Boston, specializing in leverage finance and restructurings.  Mr. Boothe holds a B.S. from Georgetown University.

Corey A. Printup
Associate 
Mr. Printup joined RLJ from Morgan Stanley where he was a Senior Analyst in the Financial Institutions and Real Estate Groups.  He also spent a summer as an Analyst in the Media & Telecom Group at Credit Suisse First Boston.  Mr. Printup received his BA from Morehouse College.