MICHAEL A. LEVEN US Franchise Systems Michael Leven is chairman, president, and chief executive officer, of US Franchise Systems. Atlanta-based US Franchise Systems franchises the Microtel, Hawthorn and Best Inns & Suites hotel brands. Prior to his present position, Leven was president and chief operating officer of Holiday Inn. Before that, he was president, Americas Division, Holiday Inn Worldwide. A veteran executive of the lodging industry, Leven has held senior executive positions with Days Inns, Americana Hotels, Dunfey Family Hotels, and Sonesta Hotels. Leven is a director of Starwood Lodging Trust and Lodgian, a publicly traded hotel and resort company. He is also a member of the board of governors of the American Red Cross and its executive committee, and is chairman of the biomedical services board of the American Red Cross. In addition, he is a trustee of National Realty Trust, and a member of the Tourism Committee of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism. Leven serves on the board of executive advisors of THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE. A founder of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) which now has over 6,000 members, Leven has lectured at most of the hotel schools in the US. He is former international president of the Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and a member of HSMAI's Hall of Fame. He currently chairs the "Millennium Occupancy & Revenue Effort (M.O.R.E.)" task force, a marketing arm of the American Hotel & Motel Association (AH&MA) and was chairman of the AH&MA Government Affairs Committee. Recent business recognitions include: the 1998 American Hotel &Motel Association's Council of Inns & Suites Person of the Year Award; the 1998 Arthur Landstreet Award; the Lodging Industry's Top Performing Chief Executive Officer of 1998 (HVS International); the 1999 Georgia Hospitality & Travel Association Spirit of Hospitality Award; and the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) 1999 Pioneer Award. Leven, a Boston native, received his BA from Tufts University in 1959 and his MS in public relations from Boston University in 1961. He holds both a CHSE (certified hotel sales executive) and CHA (certified hotel executive) from the Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International and the American Hotel & Motel Association.