- Date Of Birth: October 13, 1958
- Date Of Death: February 15, 2021
- Occupation: Business executive and attorney
- City: Washington
- State: D.C.
Arne Morris Sorenson (October 13, 1958 – February 15, 2021) was an American hotel executive who served as the president and chief executive officer of Marriott International from 2012 until his death in 2021. He was a graduate of Luther College in Iowa, and the University of Minnesota Law School. He previously practiced law in Washington, D.C. with Latham and Watkins (specializing in mergers and acquisitions litigation), and as the chief operating officer of Marriott.
He was also a member of the board of directors of Microsoft Corporation and Walmart, as well as a trustee of the Brookings Institution.
Sorenson met his future wife, Ruth Christenson, when he was studying at Luther College and Christenson was working at her family’s ice cream shop in Decorah, Iowa. The couple married in 1984 and went on to have four children.
During college, Sorenson’s father sent him on a summer church mission in war-torn Beirut; he continued to be “driven by faith” throughout his life and career.
In 2019, it was announced that Sorenson was undergoing treatment for stage II pancreatic cancer at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He continued to head the company during this period. On February 2, 2021, the company announced he would take a reduction in work hours to allow for treatment and spending time with his family. Although Sorenson had been described as in good health at that time, he unexpectedly died at his home in Washington, D.C. two weeks later on February 15, 2021, at age 62.
Considered an industry icon who was noted for a progressive, even “transformational” style of leadership; his legacy inspired creation of the Arne Sorenson Social Impact Leadership Award by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), the American Hotel & Lodging Foundation, and the BHN Group. The inaugural award is slated for the AHLA Foundation’s annual fundraising gala, “Night of a Thousand Stars”, and “Americas Lodging Investment Summit” in 2021. – Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License from Wikipedia.
