Jon E. Eliassen

Jon E. Eliassen was appointed Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Lion Hotels Corporation on January 13, 2010. He has been a Director of the company since September 2003. Mr. Eliassen was President and CEO of the Spokane Area Economic Development Council from 2003 until 2007. In 2003 he retired from his position as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Avista Corp., a publicly traded diversified utility. Mr. Eliassen spent 33 years at Avista, including the last 16 years as its Chief Financial Officer. While at Avista, he was an active participant in the development of a number of successful subsidiary company operations, including technology-related startups Itron, Avista Labs and Avista Advantage. Mr. Eliassen serves as Chairman of the board of directors of Itron Corp. and as a member of the board of directors of IT Lifeline, Inc., and he is the Principal of Terrapin Capital Group, LLC. Mr. Eliassen’s corporate accomplishments are complemented by his extensive service to the community in roles that have included Director and President of the Spokane Symphony Endowment Fund, Director of The Heart Institute of Spokane, and Washington State University Research Foundation, Washington Technology Center, and Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, and he was Director of numerous other organizations and energy industry associations.