Karen Satterlee is a Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel – APAC.  In this role, Ms. Satterlee manages the Legal function for Hilton in the Asia Pacific region (China, India, Southeast Asia, Japan/Korea/Micronesia and Australasia). Key responsibilities include: serving as a member of the Senior Executive Committee of Hilton in APAC; leadership, management and supervision of the APAC Legal team located in Singapore, China, Japan and India; management of outside counsel; general oversight and management of all legal matters in APAC including dispute resolution and compliance; management of the regional Legal budget; protection of the company’s commercial interests and risk management in the region; providing strategic advice and overseeing legal services to the corporate development function and individual hotel development transactions; and building and implementing Hilton’s APAC franchising strategy.

Ms. Satterlee is a current member of the International Franchise Association’s Board of Directors.  She is also a Past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Franchising’s Governing Committee.   Ms. Satterlee is a former member of the Board of Trustees for the International Franchise Association’s Educational Foundation and the Board of Governors for the Institute of Certified Franchise Executives.  

Ms. Satterlee is an Adjunct Professor of Law at American University’s Washington College of Law and has authored numerous articles on franchise law and is a frequent speaker at legal and industry conferences.

Ms. Satterlee received her JD and BA at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and lives in Singapore.