Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson Passes Away

Best wishes to his family.

As someone in his late 50s I've been pondering retirement frequently. You don't want to run out of money in retirement but you want to enjoy some of your retirement before you die and the longer you work the less likely you'll be able to do so. I have a couple of family members in their 80s and told me to enjoy life while I can because health problems multiple quickly and for every older person you see traveling in their 70s/80s, there are many more unable to do so.

I can't say I was a fan of Marriott but I don't know how much of that was Arne or how much was the rest of their management. Anyhow, cancer sucks and dying at 62 is sad.

Put a Marriott family member back in charge. Marriott needs to focus on quality, not quantity.

He was a beautiful man. RIP Arne.

I listened to him speak at GBTA several times. He was a dynamic leader and an effective communicator. My condolences to his family and the Marriott team. Tough to lose your leader.

Well said Rich -- agreed on all points. Firstly, condolences to the family. Next, I do think Marriott needs to reassess its loyalty to its frequent guests (Titanium).

Most importantly however is the point that time is the ONLY scarce commodity in the end. I'm about a decade younger but thinking along the same lines -- maybe more of a downshift than a complete stoppage (have had some fortunate business transactions and have never lived close to my means).

Was just telling someone yesterday about a bucket list trip that we took 2 years ago to New Zealand and Australia. Those countries aren't even OPEN today and my wife and I did some fairly intense 10+ mile day hikes and other activities. You just can't do those in your 70's.

Bottom line: don't wait!

RIP Arne Sorenson.

I am not a Marriott fan, in part, because of their enhancement of shared toiletries. However, it is sad for the company and family that Arne has died. RIP.

Rip Arne i work for Marriottt international 13 years and it was a great company to work for .my condolences to his family

Bon voyage! See you on the other side.

RIP.
Marriott Bonvoy devalued the points and categories so much that don't have any loyalty for them.

Don’t wait to travel (obviously wait after the pandemic is over) as you never know if the last trip will be it due to health problems. A friend was saving / waiting for that bucket list trip for years. Unfortunately he died of cancer out of nowhere within a month couple years ago. Everyone thought his husband, who’s overweight and over a decade older, would be the first one to go. I guess fate has a different plan....

RIP. Way too young to go.

R.I.P. Sir. In my Heart you were a Friend and Great Employer . My Condolences to the family.

Agree with some here that voiced the sentiment of 'don't wait'. Goes for things other than travel too as far as I'm concerned.
Also, it's a cliche' but it's so true - if you don't have your health, you don't have anything.

(Don't exactly know why but suddenly finding myself humming "Fiddler on the roof"'s "To life, to life, Le'chaim! Le'chaim, Le'chaim - to life!")

So fast to go from diagnosed to passing :/. I said to a relative it seems like pancreatic & colon cancer is getting more and more aggressive in people. R.I.P..

Indeed very sad news, Arne was a great leader, regardless of how one felt about Marriott.

I did not know him and never met him. It is sad to hear the news of someone passing so early in life with so much to offer and accomplish—condolences to the immediate family and Marriott Family.

I interacted with Arne Sorensen only once but he was curious and seemed to care about customer feedback. Sad to hear of his passing - way too young.

Very sad. And where are all the haters of Arne?

Not a fan personally. I guess he was good for shareholders but the Starwood acquisition was bad for customers of both brands, not to mention hotel owners. My best wishes to his family

To JW in Georgia-Yes you can do these in your 70 s IF you have made the effort to exercise, eat a decent diet, and of course have the luck of not getting zapped by a nasty unexpected illness coming at you.
I am running out of 70 s. For the first time since 2005 I missed some rigorous hikes in the Swiss Alps in 2020 and do not expect to do them this year either. Hoping for a better 2022.

This explains why I peered out the window of my office and saw the JW Marriott Brickell flag at half mast today. RIP Arne.

Pancreatic cancer is simply awful. I've had two close family members go that way in their 30's, so I know. I feel terribly for Sorenson's family. That doesn't change the fact that he was a horrible CEO. He took a culture that fervently believed in treating employees and customers fairly and intentionally destroyed it. He viewed customers as - at best - adversaries. OTOH he may have been a spectacular person when removed from work.

Unexpected? The man had pancreatic cancer! RIP!

I had the chance to meet Mr Sorensen twice. He was a very nice gentleman and incredibly smart.

Rest in Peace!

Christian, if you had two close family members die of pancreatic cancer in their 30s, have you been checked for the BRCA gene? It doesn't just cause breast cancer.

RIP Arne