Edwin D. Fuller

Edwin D. "Ed" Fuller is the President and Managing Director of International Lodging for Marriott International, a position he has held since 1991. He is a published author and considered a leading authority in the global hospitality industry. Fuller led Marriott to expand from 16 properties outside the continental United States and Canada to 400 operating and 175 under construction in 70 countries with $7B in revenues. He created 72,000 new jobs globally since joining Marriott in 1972.

Fuller began his career at Marriott as a management trainee and was promoted throughout his career into executive leadership roles in marketing, sales, and operations. Titles held have included Director of National and International Sales and Reservations, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, and Regional Vice President. He was promoted to the global leadership role of International Lodging Operations as Senior Vice President and Managing Director and later to Executive Vice President and Managing Director. In addition, he chairs the International Development Committee.

Fuller is an award-winning and ACTIVE alumnus of Boston University (BU). He was recognized with the Alumni Award in 1998. He currently serves on the Board of Overseers and as chairman for the Advisory Board at BU. He is also chairman of the Advisory Board for the University of California, Irvine's Mirage School of Business and was appointed to the California State University Hospitality Industry Advisory Board.

Publication

Fuller is the author of You Can't Lead with Your Feet on the Desk: Building Relationships, Breaking Down Barriers, and Delivering Profits, which was published by Wiley in March 2011. Drawing on nearly 40 years of professional experience with Marriott, he shares insight on methods for dealing with employees, partners, suppliers, and customers in a manner that breaks down cultural and language barriers. He offers guidance on managing in any culture through the use of respect and sensitivity for diverse customs and practices. The book also explores his own career journey, describing how he built Marriott International's global presence to become one of the largest and most successful hotel chains in the world.

In his book, he credits learning "the art of leadership and relationship building" from J. W. Marriott, Jr., William Shaw, Al Le Faivre, Paul Reed, Bill Tiefel, Sergeant James, his Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity brothers at Boston University, and the many individuals he served beside in the U.S. Army. He continuously stresses the significance of trust, values, and responsibility throughout the publication.

The book focuses on Fuller's belief in how leaders must be present to build relationships, understand culture, and advance business. He writes, "... if you are spending your days meeting with other managers or sitting at your desk doing paperwork, it's time to broaden your HORIZONS and get closer to your business." He also provides numerous real-life accounts of maintaining operations and profits through hurricanes, war, and political unrest.

With the ability to use storytelling as a method for inspiring and teaching others, he lists ways to improve management skills throughout his book by sharing his own experiences. His storytelling is also used to promote career advancement for others, such as illustrations regarding his own career launch, which was as a waiter. Fuller shared that "Storytelling has made me more effective in doing my job."

In a first-person account he states, "I was hired as a management trainee in 1972 and spent the next 39 years learning—everything from cleaning potatoes to cleaning rooms and lessons in marketing, sales, and operations."

Professional history

In 1972, he launched his career as the sales director of Twin Bridges Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.. Fuller served in a sales leadership role, and was subsequently promoted to the position of national sales manager of the Northeast Region in 1973, located in New York City. With a vision for national (and ultimately international) expansion, he accepted the position of Director of National and International Sales at Marriott International Headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland from 1976 to 1978.

Fuller's drive and capability led to the global executive position of Vice President / Chief Sales and Marketing Officer. He served in this role from 1978 to 1982, during which time he spearheaded aggressive sales and marketing initiatives across the United States, Asia, and the Middle East. He is credited with establishing Marriott's original international reservations network, as well as the entire sales and marketing organization in Europe and the Middle East.

Fuller became general manager of the Long Island Marriott Hotel in 1982, where in one year he launched the newly-constructed 300-room suburban hotel in Hempstead, New York. From 1983 to 1985, he served as General Manager of the Boston Marriott Hotel at Copley Place, leading the development of a 1,200-room convention hotel which opened in 1984. As Regional Vice President of Midwest and Canada, he relocated to Illinois from 1985 to 1989 to lead operations, marketing, human resources, and financial aspects of hotels in the Midwest and the first Marriott in Canada. From 1989 to 1990, Fuller grew revenues to $1.5 billion as Regional Vice President of the Western and Pacific Regions in Santa Ana, California.

In 1991, he was promoted to his current executive role of President and Managing Director of the International Lodging Division. During his tenure, he has logged more than 10-million miles of air travel while expanding Marriott's global footprint to more than 150 countries. In his current position, Fuller leads operations and expansion in the Middle East and Africa and is charged with guiding Marriott's global growth strategy. He reports directly to the chief operating officer (COO).

Fuller operates from Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. He is credited with growing international operations from 16 hotels valued at $325 million to a network of 400 and 175 in development with gross sales of $7 billion. He created and directed global brand creation of JW Marriott Hotels and Marriott Executive Apartments. Fuller is credited with reducing costs $1 million per hotel by developing and implementing the "Infinity" property audit process, which was launched globally within Marriott and Ritz-Carlton brands.

Education and academic affiliations

Fuller obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University in 1968, and is also a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Business Advanced Management Program. Actively involved with several higher education initiatives, Fuller serves on the Board of Overseers at Boston University and as Chairman of the Schools Advisory Board at the University of California, Irvine. Fuller was formerly the Director of the United Way International Board.

Awards and recognitions

Fuller was formally recognized with the Boston University Alumni Award in 1999 and School of Management Alumni Award for Service to Alma Mater in 1992. Recognized with several awards throughout his career, Fuller won the Hotel Investment Forum India (HIFI) Aatithya Ratna Award, 2010 China Hotel Investment Summit, 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award; and Marriott Chairman's Award, 1999.

Fuller was an integral leader of the executive team that led the company to rank in Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies To Work For" and "All Star" lists.

Fuller was recognized with the Veterans Advantage TopVet award in December 2010. As a former captain in the United States Army, he received the Bronze Star Medal and an Army Commendation Medal for his exemplary service to his country during missions in Vietnam and Germany.

Commitment to the environment and global community

Fuller is recognized for his dedication to developing and implementing strategies that preserve the environment and for his support of "green" organizations around the world. He has represented Marriott International at high profile environmental events, including one hosted by Charles, Prince of Wales. He also served as International Tourism Partner (ITP) chairman for 8 of 16 years on the board of directors. Fuller has also impacted the protection of the Amazon Rainforest.

He is quoted as saying, "I believe we are standing at a crossroads. While the science behind climate change may still be debated, few argue that temperatures are rising globally and that this change will potentially have a devastating effect on destinations and populations. As an industry, it is too risky to sit back and watch. We need to take an active part in understanding the change and doing our part to mitigate this trend."