Bill Marriott: Executive Chairman of Marriott International

About Bill Marriott: Executive Chairman of Marriott International

John Willard "Bill" Marriott Jr. (born March 25, 1932, in Washington, D.C.) is an American billionaire businessman, the executive chairman of Marriott International, of which he owns 11.28%. He is the son of Alice Marriott and J. Willard Marriott, founder of Marriott Corporation, attended St. Albans School in Washington, and is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. In 1954 he earned a BS in finance from the University of Utah, where he met his wife, the daughter of a professor, and after graduating attended a Navy training school in Georgia; he married in June 1955 at the Salt Lake Temple. Marriott joined Marriott Corporation in 1956 and pushed his father, who was wary of taking on debt after the Great Depression, to expand from the restaurant business into hotels. He became executive vice president and a director in January 1964, president in November 1964, CEO in 1972 and chairman of the board in 1985, and he introduced the practice of revenue management to the hotel industry. Effective March 31, 2012 he became executive chairman and gave the CEO role to Arne Sorenson. His honors include The Industry Leader of the Year from Michigan State University's Broad College of Business in 2001 and an honorary doctorate of humanities from Weber State University in 2006. Sources: English Wikipedia (Bill Marriott, accessed September 2026).

Basic Information

Executive Chairman, Marriott International

Company Details

Marriott International

Hotels, Hospitality

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