I don’t necessarily believe that the experiences of other family companies are relevant here. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.It’s been more than a year since Arne officially took over, and I’m quite happy with how the process has turned out. He obviously had deep insights into the hotel business, which he continues to offer as vice chairman of our board. He lived in 1930, at address, Ohio. He’d enjoyed being in the field; now the pressure built on him to be in the office every day, attending long back-to-back meetings and focusing on administrative work. The process evolved naturally and over a long time, and it has actually felt fairly seamless.As Arne was learning the business, my son John continued to move up through the company. Customers, too, appreciate companies that have a human face, and that face is easier to see if it’s the face of a family member whose name is over the door.At the age of 32, Bill Marriott became the head of the company his father had built up from its beginnings as a root beer stand in 1927. Arne was clearly the right choice, and it was time. The case involved a lot of incredibly complicated financial details, and Arne helped me first to understand and then to explain them so that they sounded simple. He grew up very active in his church. Have you looked at how other companies have transitioned from family CEOs to nonfamily CEOs?John had worked here for 20 years before I arrived, and by that time he had a big job. My father was worried that I was too young, but Marriott was still small at the time—we had about $85 million in annual revenue—and I think he figured he’d be around long enough to bail me out if I got into trouble. My oldest son, Stephen, has a debilitating disease—he’s blind and mostly deaf. Did you receive guidance on how to develop in that area?I first met Arne Sorenson, who eventually succeeded me, in 1993. That isn’t the life for him.But even though he’d spent years filing lawsuits and conducting cross-examinations, Arne has a broader background, as I came to learn. He held important jobs in finance and brand management. In 2002 he joined our board. My daughter, Debbie, is the mother of five, and although she worked at Marriott as a teenager, she stayed home with her kids for three decades. But he wanted to try something new, not law. Like all family members who have joined the company (including me), John started at the bottom, as a cook in the kitchen. I don’t recall thinking of us as rivals until a Without Reservations: How a Family Root Beer Stand Grew Into a Global Hotel Company John performed very well in all those roles. In 1983 he graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School, and he went on to become a partner at Latham & Watkins. As far as I know, Arne didn’t seriously consider leaving. When I became the head of Marriott, in 1964, many people were surprised. I don’t mean to sound immodest, but over the years I had inquiries from most of our global competitors about either their top job or a very senior job, and I never contemplated taking any of them. Second, I had good momentum throughout my career here, so I was never dissatisfied. Bill Marriott admits that he worried about your people skills. Arne married Edith Irene Sorenson on month day 1917, at age 41 at marriage place, Ohio. Arne has a lot of respect for David, and David has a lot of respect for Arne. Two of his sons have worked for the company for many years, and one of them, John, seemed destined to succeed his father. But as time went on, Bill Marriott realized that it wasn’t the right fit—for either John or the company. Arne passed away on month day 1931, at … Not all my children were in the running to succeed me. He really liked working in the Marriott culture, and he wanted to stay near Washington, where he’d lived since college and where he and his wife were raising their family.No. Arne Sorenson was born in 1876, at birth place, to Arne Sorenson and Ellen Sorenson. Some of them were probably viewed as potential successors, but I was in no hurry to give up the job. http://www.luther.edu/contact/administrative/regents/ He spent most of his adult life preparing to succeed me as CEO. Here are some edited excerpts: I recognized that Arne had great potential, but he didn’t have any experience in the operations side of the hotel business. I didn’t have much direct contact with him in that job, but I did get to know him a bit better. Mr. Sorenson is Chairman at CEO Roundtable LLC, President, Chief Executive Officer & Director at Marriott International, Inc., Chief Executive Officer for Courtyard By Marriott and President & Chief Operating Officer of Fullerton Marriott at California State University Hotel. In 2009, he was named President and COO.Sorenson was a vocal opponent of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would have made it easier for workers to join unions. Marriott International CEO, Arne Sorenson, is an authentic leader and he proved it this week with the release of a 6-minute video to Marriott employees, shareholders, and customers. So that was a concern.