Marriott International Inc. has tapped Tony Capuano as its new chief executive officer, picking a longtime veteran of the world’s largest hotel company to steer it through the industry’s most crippling period in memory.
Mr. Capuano, 55 years old, has been with the company for 25 years and was most recently a group president responsible for leading Marriott’s global development, design efforts and operations.
He takes over the top spot after former CEO and President Arne Sorenson died last week. Mr. Sorenson had been diagnosed with stage-2 pancreatic cancer in 2019. Stephanie Linnartz, 52, a Marriott group president overseeing consumer operations, technology and emerging businesses, is the company’s new president.
In running Marriott, a 1.4 million room global lodging behemoth, Mr. Capuano assumes one of the most challenging jobs in all of American business.
The hotel sector is still reeling from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused global travel to dry up, brought hotel closings in cities across the U.S. and forced rounds of layoffs and furloughs industrywide. Mr. Capuano is also replacing a beloved CEO who made a point of connecting with everyone from the company’s group leaders to housekeepers.
