Marriott International Inc. suffered another blow when Arne Sorenson, its chief executive, died from cancer on Monday, but analysts expect the hotel company under new leadership to still manage a gradual recovery from the pandemic’s effect on business.
That continuity reflects industry expectations that the next CEO will be chosen from one of two Marriott executives currently leading the company’s day-to-day operations. Mr. Sorenson reduced his responsibilities earlier this month for health reasons.
One is Stephanie Linnartz, the group president for consumer operations, technology and emerging businesses. The other is Tony Capuano, group president for global development, design and operations services.
Marriott has said the board will select a new chief within two weeks, and one of those two executives is expected to get that role, said a person familiar with the situation.
Either of them would be expected to continue a similar strategy for the company, starting with steering it through the remainder of the Covid-19 pandemic, said Carlo Santarelli, analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
