Marriott Announces Changes to Board

BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Marriott International, Inc. MAR today announced several moves on its board of directors. William J. Shaw, Marriott's vice chairman of the company, has resigned from the board effective upon adjournment of the board's meeting February 11, in conjunction with his retirement from the company, which is effective March 31. Arne M. Sorenson, Marriott's president and chief operating officer, will join the board upon Mr. Shaw's resignation. In addition, W. Mitt Romney has resigned from the board effective January 12. Governor Romney served as a director from 1993 to 2002 and rejoined the board in January 2009. Following his resignation, the board voted to reduce its membership from 11 to 10 directors. J.W. Marriott, Jr., chairman of the board and chief executive officer, said, "I have deep gratitude and tremendous admiration for both Mitt Romney and Bill Shaw. Both have served our company at the highest level through their board membership and their contributions have been invaluable. The company's management and the entire board wish them all the best in their future endeavors. "At the same time, I am delighted that Arne Sorenson will join our board. As demonstrated for the past 14 years including the last year and a half as president and chief operating officer of the company, Arne brings keen intelligence and judgment as well as deep financial and operations expertise to this new role and I look forward to his counsel and insights as our company continues its global growth."