Marriott CEO Takes Bold STAND – 40K Emails!

Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano stands firm on diversity initiatives despite political shifts, receiving overwhelming support from tens of thousands of employees worldwide.

At a Glance

• Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano reaffirmed the company’s commitment to DEI principles following federal rollbacks
• Capuano received approximately 40,000 supportive emails from Marriott associates after taking his public stance
• The CEO emphasized Marriott’s nearly century-old values of welcoming all and creating opportunity regardless of political climate
• Many major U.S. companies have reduced DEI policies following Trump administration’s executive orders
• Marriott leadership aligned on maintaining its industry-leading position on inclusion despite external pressures

Marriott CEO Receives Overwhelming Support for DEI Stance

Marriott CEO and President Anthony Capuano revealed he received approximately 40,000 emails from company associates thanking him for maintaining the hospitality giant’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Capuano made these remarks during the Great Place to Work for All Summit, where he discussed how the hotel chain approached DEI amid significant shifts in the political landscape affecting corporate America’s inclusion policies. The CEO’s comments came after former President Donald Trump’s administration shut down federal DEI offices and signed executive orders reversing previous DEI efforts.

“The day the [DEI] executive order came out, I sat with our senior leadership team and I said: given the industry-leading position we have, we ought to make sure we’re all aligned on, not only philosophically — how we think about this, which was the easy part — but what words we use, what language we use. We should talk with the board a little bit about it.”, said Anthony Capuano.

Corporate America’s DEI Retreat and Marriott’s Steadfast Position

While many major U.S. corporations have scaled back their diversity programs in response to political pressure, Marriott has taken a different approach. Companies including Amazon, Meta, and Walmart have reportedly reduced their DEI policies following the federal government’s shift on the issue. The political climate surrounding DEI was a significant topic of discussion at the ALIS Conference, where Capuano participated in a CEO panel and media breakfast. Rather than following the corporate retreat from inclusion initiatives, Capuano chose to reflect on the company’s long-standing values that predate current political debates.

“I thought about what I’d heard from Bill Marriott all these decades. And what I said in response to those questions, we’ve been around for almost a century, political winds blow all different directions, particularly when you operate in almost 150 countries. I said, but there are some fundamental truths about this company that have guided us for those 98 years.”, the CEO added.

A Century-Old Commitment to Inclusion

Capuano emphasized that Marriott’s approach to inclusivity is not a recent corporate trend but rather a fundamental aspect of the company’s identity that spans its nearly 100-year history. The CEO noted that regardless of which way “political winds blow,” particularly across the approximately 150 countries where Marriott operates, certain core principles remain unchanged. This consistency in values, even as political administrations change, appears to have resonated strongly with Marriott’s global workforce, as evidenced by the tens of thousands of supportive messages Capuano received.

“We welcome all to our hotels, and we create opportunity for all. And fundamentally, those will never change, right?”, concludes the CEO.

The CEO’s public stance and the overwhelming positive response from employees underscore a potential disconnect between political shifts and corporate culture at Marriott. While government policy on DEI has fluctuated, Capuano’s experience suggests that within his organization, support for inclusion remains strong among employees across all levels. For Marriott, maintaining these principles appears to be not just a matter of corporate policy but a reflection of deeply embedded organizational values that have withstood nearly a century of political and social change in the hospitality industry.