Arne M. Sorenson (Arne M. Sorenson)

Arne M. Sorenson (Arne M. Sorenson)

Biography

2012-2016

Sorenson headed Marriott International in 2012, becoming the first head of this hotel chain to not be a member of the Marriott founding family. Under his leadership, in 2016, the chain acquired Starwood Hotels and Resorts for $13 billion. This deal allowed Marriott International to become the world's largest hotel chain, providing more than 1 million rooms in more than 110 countries.

2019-2020

In May 2019, Marriott announced that Sorenson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Sorenson reduced his work schedule to adjust to treatment, but continued to work.

In March 2020, Sorenson announced that by the end of the year he was abandoning his salary, the funds from which should be used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic was a serious blow to the Marriott network and led to the dismissal of tens of thousands of workers.

2021: Cancer deaths

On February 15, 2021, Marriott CEO Arne M. Sorenson died, who oversaw Marriott's global expansion and turned it into the largest hotel chain in the world. He was 62 years old.

The company said that Stephanie Linnartz and Tony Capuano, who have overseen the hotel chain since early February, will continue to perform these functions until Marriott's board of directors appoints a new CEO.

Arne was an exceptional leader, but in addition he was an exceptional person, "said Executive Chairman J. W. Marriott Jr. - On behalf of the Board of Directors and hundreds of thousands of Marriott employees around the world, we express our sincere condolences to Arna's wife and his four children. We share your grief and will miss Arne very much.

During Sorenson's leadership, the network's market capitalization exceeded $42 billion. By February 2021, Marriott manages more than 7.5 thousand hotels in 131 countries of the world under 30 brands. Among the most famous are Ritz Carlton, Courtyard, Residence Inn, Marriott, St. Regis, Le Meridien, Sheraton, Four Points.^[1]

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