Marriott International has made the following senior
executive appointments.
Effective May 1, William
J. Shaw, currently president and chief operating officer,
will become vice chairman of the company, an executive position
reporting to J.W. Marriott, Jr., chairman of the board and chief
executive officer. Mr. Shaw will continue to serve on the board of
directors. John Marriott III, chief executive officer of JWM
Family Enterprises, L.P., a private partnership, will continue to
serve as vice chairman of the board.
Arne M. Sorenson,
executive vice president, chief financial officer, and president,
continental European lodging, will become president and chief
operating officer of the company, reporting to Mr. Marriott.
Carl T. Berquist,
executive vice president financial information and enterprise risk
management, will become executive vice president and chief
financial officer, reporting to Mr. Shaw. Mr. Berquist will retain
his role as the company’s principal accounting officer.
In speaking to a meeting of associates at the
company’s headquarters, Mr. Marriott said, “The steps we are
taking today are important and will put Marriott in the strongest
position for a successful future. In these unprecedented times,
the company is fortunate to have extraordinary executives who will
expand our industry leadership and drive long term opportunity.”
Mr. Shaw has been pivotal in Marriott’s rapid
growth. Since joining the company, he has held key financial,
development and operating positions in the company before being
appointed president and chief operating officer in 1997. Since
then, he has overseen operations as Marriott expanded from 1,500
hotels and 300,000 rooms in 54 countries to nearly 3,200 hotels
and 560,000 rooms in 66 countries.
Under Mr. Shaw the company has exited non-core
businesses, protected hotel margins by deploying systems and
technology to reduce costs, enhanced productivity and streamlined
operations.
Mr. Sorenson joined Marriott in 1996, and in
1997, led the acquisition of the Renaissance Hotels and Resorts
brand. He was named chief financial officer in 1998. Under Mr.
Sorenson’s leadership as CFO, Marriott has recycled over $5
billion of capital through the sale of assets, repurchased over
250 million shares of the company’s common stock, and strengthened
the company’s balance sheet, which has been instrumental in
driving Marriott’s unit growth. He also has dramatically improved
the efficiency of company-wide finance systems and controls. In
2003, Mr. Sorenson assumed responsibility for continental European
lodging, where he has managed operations across more than 100
hotels and spearheaded the launch of the Courtyard brand there.
Mr. Berquist, who joined the company in December
2002, led an initiative to significantly expand effectiveness and
transparency in financial analysis and reporting across the
company. As CFO, he will oversee global finance, including
financial reporting, project finance, financial planning,
treasury, tax, audit, and risk management.
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