Steven Hilton Announces Retirement from Hilton Foundation

Steven M. Hilton, announced his retirement today as president and CEO of the Agoura Hills-based Conrad N. Hilton Foundation at the end of 2015.

After 30 years at the foundation and nearing his 65th birthday, Hilton said in a press release that a new executive will be appointed soon.

“When I joined the Hilton Foundation in 1983, I couldn’t imagine the path that lay ahead,” said Steven Hilton, grandson of the founder, Conrad N. Hilton of Hilton Hotel fame. The hotelier left his fortune to the foundation to help the world's disadvantaged and vulnerable people

When Steven Hilton took the helm, a handful of staff guided about $6 million in grants annually, he said.

“Fast forward to today, and we have grown to a staff of over 50 and have awarded over a billion dollars in grants to improve the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people around the world,” Hilton said.

Hilton was named president in 1998, CEO in 2005, and chairman of the Board of Directors in 2012. In 2013, the foundation awarded $92 million in grants and moved from Century City to a permanent campus in Agoura Hills, occupying a facility that earned LEED Platinum status.

“Steve Hilton is that rare leader whose foundation lies in his religious beliefs and his genuine humility, yet who can make tough business decisions,” stated William G. Ouchi, Sanford & Betty Sigoloff Professor of Management at UCLA's Anderson School of Management and member of the Hilton Foundation's Board of Directors.

“He has guided the foundation into new program strategies and grown our impact while consistently growing our endowment at the same time. He has the additional task of serving as the representative of a famous family, which he does with style and friendliness. His influence on the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation will be felt for the next 50 years and more.”