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For someone with the highest-profile job in the hotel industry , Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson is about as grounded as they come and not swept away by the trappings of his position . Unlike many chief executives , he almost always flies commercial , frequently in coach . As often as possible , Sorenson prefers to drive for himself . “ I do not want to live in a bubble ,” he says . “ I don ’ t want that for myself , nor do I want the impact that bubble has on the way I interact with our people or with the world around me .”
Those are likely among the traits that in 2012 led Bill Marriott , now the company ’ s executive chairman and chairman of the board , to make Sorenson the first leader of the company who did not bear the family name .
Eight years in , Sorenson emphasizes an enduring love for the job and ongoing focus on maintaining the culture created by his predecessor .
“ I still love my work ,” says the 61-yearold son and grandson of Lutheran preachers . “ I absolutely love it . There ’ s no part of what I do on a day-to-day basis that causes me to get up in the morning and say , ‘ Well , got to go do that thing again .’”
FINDING THE JOY Not even a May 2019 diagnosis of stage two pancreatic cancer , a battle Sorenson is in the middle of fighting , has changed his approach to work . Instead , he says he prefers to find the joy — something he says he talks to his team about , and while on morning runs with associates at the hotels he stays in while on the road .
“ The joy makes such a difference ,” he says . “ It brings curiosity . It brings stamina … One of the great gifts of the industry that we work in , Marriott as a company and the job I have is I just love it all . I ’ m curious about the world , so travel is not a wearying thing .
LEADER
It is an energizing thing . And , of course , I ’ ve seen people who have either traveled with me or others who are taking a similar beat , and you can see that all they want to do is get home . And they ’ re not really curious about where they are . They ’ re not savoring the things that are different from at home , whether that be cultural or food or architecture or whatever . And I just absolutely love that piece .”
The dealmaker ( think Starwood ) turned team leader says that what pleases him most is seeing his colleagues , and Marriott ’ s approximately 750,000 team members worldwide , enjoy what they are doing .
“ What I am singularly most proud of is that the culture at Marriott is , I think , as healthy and vibrant today as it ’ s ever been . I ’ m really grateful to be able to say that as the first non-Marriott CEO of the company . And if you asked me at the get-go what I was most worried about , it would have been screwing the thing up ,” Sorenson reflects . “ And I mean that from a cultural perspective — not from a business model perspective or from a deal perspective . Not that those aren ’ t important things too , but the culture of connectivity within a company and connectivity with each other and this sense that we want to build careers here and build opportunity for each other — that ’ s still a very vibrant thing , and I ’ m really grateful it ’ s still here .”
GUT INSTINCT As a lawyer in Washington , D . C ., Sorenson began representing Marriott in 1992 . By 1996 , Bill Marriott had asked him to join the company , but Sorenson agreed to do so only in a non-legal capacity . He ran mergers and acquisitions and in 1998 became chief financial officer , a job Sorenson says he wasn ’ t qualified for but did with the backing of his predecessor .
“ I think [ Bill Marriott ] was relying on his gut instincts about my leadership capacity
HE IS A CURIOUS PERSON WHO IS PASSIONATE ABOUT HIS WORK AND THE WORLD AROUND HIM . CONVINCING HIM TO JOIN MARRIOTT NEARLY 24 YEARS AGO WAS ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS I ’ VE MADE .
J . W . “ BILL ” MARRIOTT , JR . ON ARNE SORENSON