Following in My Father's Footsteps

Last Friday marked an incredible transition for me personally and for the company I’ve grown up in. I am humbled and honored to assume the role as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Marriott International as my dad transitions to Chairman Emeritus after 37 years leading our Board and 66 years of service to the company. Marriott’s chairman before my father was my grandfather, who founded the company 95 years ago alongside my grandmother. When my father was named president in 1964, my grandfather gave him a letter that read, “It’s not often a father has a son who can step into his shoes and wear them well.”?To say I have big shoes to fill is an understatement and a responsibility I don’t take lightly.

My dad isn’t one for long speeches or deep conversations to impart lessons in leadership.?For him, and for me, it has been learning by doing and watching. He has always talked about the importance of listening and I have taken that to heart as I have led my own teams at Marriott in Global Sales, our Eastern Region, and for our US Full-Service hotels.?I have also soaked in the powerful nuggets of advice I’ve heard from him along the way, such as “Success is never final” and “Put people first.”?I have observed the genuine way he interacts with our associates – always a thoughtful listener, he makes it clear that there is no place else he’d rather be.?

He learned from his father in a similar way.?His parents had a dream to open a 9-seat root beer stand in Washington, DC. They worked long hours, collected the day’s revenues – sticky nickels – and deposited them each night in the bank.?My grandparents were entrepreneurs who recognized the need to add hot food to their menu when Washington’s weather turned cold.?Consequently, the root beer stand eventually expanded, becoming the Hot Shoppes restaurant chain. They were learning and growing simultaneously with the business.

Knowing nothing about the lodging business when they opened their first hotel in 1957 didn’t stop my grandma and grandpa from taking what was, at the time, an enormous risk. Believing in the power of a warm welcome, a comfortable room and a convenient location, my grandfather personally selected the development sites for the first hotels right near bridges – the Twin Bridges Marriott and Key Bridge Marriott – because he knew that while roads may change, no city planner in their right mind would move a bridge. It just made sense.

My dad, at the age of 34, oversaw that first hotel. His vision was the catalyst for the company, one of growth and expansion putting us on the road to where we are today – more than 8,000 hotels in 139 countries and territories around the globe.

My grandparents’ work ethic is legendary in our family. They raised my father and his brother, Dick, to approach the family business with three guiding principles: work hard, care deeply about the people who work for the company, and always do the right thing.

My dad absorbed those lessons, so it won’t surprise you to know that he worked a lot when I was young. When I was in the first grade, my class was given an assignment to draw a picture of our fathers at work and then one of our dads at play.?My picture of my father at the office showed him in a suit and tie working behind a big desk. The drawing of him at play depicted my dad in a sweater, sitting behind a smaller desk with a pen in his hand.?I talked to my dad about those pictures recently, and we shared a good laugh.?My dad always aimed to be home for dinner when he was in town and to make his Saturdays a day for the family. He also admitted that he frequently brought work home with him and would work after my sister, brothers and I were in bed. I suspect that most parents confront this same challenge of striving for work-life balance today. I know that I am with raising my four kids.

As an adult, I now realize that my dad was modeling for me the effort and sacrifice required to build a successful company, to truly take care of your people, and to always do the right thing even when it may be the hardest thing – just as his parents had done for him.?What an amazing education it has been.

I salute my dad for forging a legacy of hospitality innovation and fostering the people-first culture Marriott is known for throughout the world.?As I take on this role, I know I am part of something truly unique – a company that puts people at the center of everything we do and provides opportunities to help them build meaningful and long-lasting careers. I’m humbled and energized to step into my father’s shoes, and I hope I can wear them as well as he has worn my grandfather’s.?I invite you to join me on this journey.