By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: A Marriott flag hangs at the entrance of the New York Marriott Downtown hotel in Manhattan, New York November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
(Reuters) - Marriott International Inc on Tuesday named Tony Capuano as its chief executive officer, tasking the 25-year veteran of the world’s largest hotel chain with charting a path out of the industry’s worst crisis.
Capuano succeeds Arne Sorenson, who died last week after a battle with pancreatic cancer and during whose tenure Marriott struck a $12.2 billion deal to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.
Capuano, who most recently headed the company’s U.S. and Canada lodging business, takes the reins at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has decimated travel demand, pushing Marriott to its first full-year loss in more than a decade.