CEO
HAS SPENT 15 YEARS IMPRESSING BILL MARRIOTT AND THE INDUSTRY AT LARGE . NOW IT
Quick
THE
NEW
CEO
AT study
MARRIOTT
INTERNATIONAL
HAS SPENT 15 YEARS IMPRESSING BILL MARRIOTT AND THE INDUSTRY AT LARGE . NOW IT
IS HIS TURN TO GUIDE THE BIG SHIP MARRIOTT .
By Jeff Weinstein , editor in chief
While his last name is not Marriott , Arne Sorenson ’ s 15-plus years working beside the iconic CEO he is about to succeed have put him in lock step with the core values of the revered hotel company and espousing the same mantra about success never being final . At the end of this month , Sorenson
Bill Marriott congratulates Arne Sorenson at the announcement of his CEO appointment . becomes only the third CEO in Marriott history — now boasting some 635,000 hotel rooms worldwide — while Bill Marriott moves upstairs technically to the role of chairman , but most assuredly still hands-on at the company started by his father in 1927 .
At the same time , Sorenson has the keys to the family car and will lead in his own direct way , with his own driven style and with a perceived confidence that has earned him much respect from his peers and Wall Street observers .
Sorenson started with what is now the largest publicly traded U . S . hotel company in 1996 after his law firm was hired to help Marriott operations spin off from the property company now known as Host Hotels & Resorts . He worked in development roles , engineered the acquisition of Renaissance Hotels to give Marriott a much-needed anchor in Asia Pacific , headed overseas lodging operations , reorganized the business by regions , steered global expansion and then , in 2009 , became head of global operations .
The lawyer by trade gained further seasoning by managing Marriott
Arne Sorenson ’ s CV most importantly includes guiding Marriott ’ s global growth .
36 HOTELS March 2012 www . hotelsmag . com