I consider myself to have been very fortunate to have had three fantastic role models whilst growing up, in my father and two wonderful grandfathers; three very different men, with different perspectives on life, from whom I respectively had three great lessons in; Entrepreneurship, Work ethic and Family values. I may not have overtly recognised that I carried those values close to me, but I now recognise that this is why joining Marriott felt like coming home. I joined the company to gain the experience of a new opening and then hopefully move on to my ultimate desire, to run my own business - that was 20 years ago and the culture of this business is what has kept me and many more like me here. That culture is all about one man - Mr Bill Marriott
At 82 years old today, he remains the single most powerful influence on our culture.
I had the huge pleasure of being invited to dinner at his home a few years ago with a group of colleagues........ Now, we were all staying together in a hotel in Bethesda, so it would have been so easy for Mr Marriott to simply attend a dinner that we were already having as a group in the hotel, but it was clearly very important to him that we were invited into his home, to be personally welcomed and hosted by himself and his wife Donna – That single gesture absolutely reinforced for me the values of our company and the importance of putting our people first.
Happy Birthday Mr Marriott
