Marriott International Inc. he appointed Tony Capuano as its new chief executive, choosing a longtime veteran of the world’s largest hotel company to lead him through the industry’s most crippling memory year.
Mr. Capuano, 55, has been with the company for 25 years and was the latest chairman of the group responsible for leading global development, Marriott’s design and operations efforts.
He takes first place after former CEO and president Arne Sorenson died last week. Mr Sorenson had been diagnosed with stage 2 pancreatic cancer in 2019. Stephanie Linnartz, 52, chair of the Marriott Group that oversees consumer operations, technology and emerging businesses, is the company’s new president.
Driving the Marriott, a 1.4 million-room monster worldwide, Mr. Capuano takes on one of the most challenging jobs in all American business.
The hotel industry continues to collapse as a result of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has dried up global travel, shut down hotels in US cities and conducted forced rounds of layoffs and forgloughs across the industry. Mr. Capuano is also replacing a beloved president who has set out to connect with everyone from company group leaders to housekeepers.