Arne M. Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott Worldwide, passed absent unexpectedly on Monday, February 15, the enterprise said in an announcement. In May perhaps 2019, Marriott declared that Sorenson experienced been diagnosed with pancreatic most cancers and on February 2, 2021, Sorenson shared that he would quickly decrease his plan to facilitate far more demanding therapy.
Sorenson joined Marriott in 1996 as vice president and associate typical counsel and rapidly moved up the ranks, expending 5 a long time as EVP and CFO and then six years as EVP, CFO and president, continental European lodging. He was elected to Marriott’s board of directors in 2011 and grew to become the third CEO in Marriott’s historical past a 12 months later. He was the company’s initially CEO devoid of the Marriott surname. In 2017, he was awarded the International Hotel Financial commitment Forum (IHIF) Lifetime Accomplishment Award in recognition of his vocation and accomplishments.
During his tenure as CEO, Sorenson set the corporation on a potent growth trajectory that involved the $13 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. In 2017, next the acquisition, Sorenson spoke with Luxury Journey Advisor about the melding of the two providers, which created Marriott the most significant hotel business in the world, with 30 models and extra than 5,700 inns in 110 international locations at the time. It now has additional than 7,500 properties across 132 international locations and territories.
According to Marriott, Sorenson steered the firm to make sizeable progress on range, fairness and inclusion, environmental sustainability and human trafficking awareness.
“Arne was an excellent government – but extra than that – he was an remarkable human being,” said J.W. Marriott, Jr., govt chairman and chairman of the board, in the push announcement. “Arne beloved just about every facet of this enterprise and relished time spent touring our resorts and assembly associates close to the planet. He had an uncanny capacity to foresee where the hospitality sector was headed and place Marriott for progress. But the roles he relished the most were as partner, father, brother and good friend. On behalf of the Board and Marriott’s hundreds of countless numbers of associates all around the planet, we lengthen our heartfelt condolences to Arne’s spouse and 4 little ones. We share your heartbreak, and we will miss out on Arne deeply.”
In a assertion, U.S. Journey Association president and CEO Roger Dow said: “It is hard to locate words and phrases that specific the depth of our sadness at the passing of Arne Sorenson, our dear friend, enterprise chief and journey advocate.
“This is a enormous loss, first and foremost for Ruth and Arne’s great household, but also for his quite a few associates at Marriott Worldwide and all those of us throughout the vacation business who experienced the satisfaction of interacting with him. We usually sought his clever counsel and collaborated to boost the travel working experience. Arne normally presented a eyesight that prolonged very well beyond the lodging sector he so expertly represented.
“To me, Arne was much more than a expert colleague with whom I shared a distinctive Marriott bond, he was an ally, a reliable buddy and a lover. He also lent his appreciable talents to U.S. Vacation, notably as chair of our CEO Roundtable, but also in many other strategies. I will pass up him terribly.”
When Sorenson stepped back again from whole-time management previously in February, the firm tapped two veteran Marriott executives, Stephanie Linnartz, team president, shopper functions, technological know-how and emerging firms, and Tony Capuano, team president, global development, style and operations products and services, to share responsibility for overseeing the day-to-day functions of the company’s company models and company features, in addition to preserving their existing duties. Linnartz and Capuano will carry on in this potential until finally the Marriott Board appoints a new CEO, which is expected to be within just the up coming two months.
This short article initially appeared on www.travelagentcentral.com.
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