In February 2021, the hospitality world lost one of its greatest contributors, Arne Sorenson, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Sorenson was best known as the former Chief Executive Officer of the Marriott family of hotels, leading one of the most ubiquitous hospitality chains in the world. Sorenson leaves behind a legacy of enormous success, doubling the chain’s footprint during his executive tenure.
Born in Tokyo, Sorenson didn’t move to the Unites States until he was 7 years old. He grew up in the Midwest and was working at an ice cream shop in Iowa where he met his future wife, Ruth. They were married in 1984 and moved to Washington, D.C. when Sorenson graduated from law school. He started his career at D.C. law firm Latham & Watkins, rising up through the ranks until he became a partner and specialized in mergers and acquisitions. This is where he met his future employer after he took on the client of Marriott International.
In 1996, Sorenson moved in-house to Marriott as general counsel and then went on to focus on development. His first undertaking was acquiring the Renaissance brand of hotels, which started paving the way for Sorenson to move Marriott to appeal to a new demographic. In 2012, he was named CEO of Marriott International, making him the first non-family member to take the helm of the business.
Most notably, Sorenson finished his tenure with the company by making it the largest hotel company in the world when Marriott, under his leadership, acquired Starwood Hotels in 2016. This, piggybacked with the Renaissance Hotel acquisition, cemented the chain’s place among the up-and-coming generations. In order to make the chain and the hotels competitive with changing buying patterns and the needs of guests, he also found innovative ways to compete with the home rental market in a pre- and post-COVID-19 world. He was always tireless in his efforts to move the company forward and create progress for associates and owners. In his prolific career, he also served as a board member for Microsoft, Walmart, and the Special Olympics.
In addition to leading one of the world's largest companies, Sorenson was admired for being an exceptional advocate for numerous social issues and was awarded the "Out & Equal Ally Changemaker Award" for his advocacy for the LGBTQ community as well as the Katie Taylor Economic Empowerment Award for Women in Tourism and Hospitality. As an exceptional leader, he was also named “CEO of the Year” for 2019 by Chief Executive magazine, and won the 2019 International Leadership Award from the World Trade Center Institute and the 2020 "CEO For All Leadership Award," by Great Place to Work. The hospitality community is deeply saddened by Sorenson’s loss, and his legacy will live on in his innumerable contributions to both Marriott and the industry at large.
