Hotel giant Marriott International has named Satya Anand president of its high-profile Europe, Middle East and Africa division, which spans more than 75 countries and territories.

Drawing on his 32 years of experience with Marriott International, Satya Anand will spearhead the group’s recovery across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

A new era begins at Marriott

For Anand, this elevation to one of the group’s most powerful posts follows on from his stint as chief operations officer of luxury and southern Europe and global design for EMEA. He’s replacing the highly regarded Liam Brown, who has become group president of the US and Canada.

“I am delighted that Satya has taken on this role to lead our business across Europe, Middle East and Africa at such a fundamental time for the hospitality industry,” said Craig S Smith, group president, international at Marriott International. “As a 32-year Marriott veteran, Satya has a remarkable knowledge of the industry and our business, as well as outstanding relationships with associates, guests, owners and franchisees. His ability to engage and inspire will serve him well as he takes on this important position.”

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Delivering Marriott’s recovery strategy

Anand will now lead Marriott’s post-Covid19 recovery strategy across EMEA.

As president, he’ll be tasked with ensuring the group’s 998 hotels across the region deliver enhanced cleanliness and sanitisation levels to give guests greater peace of mind, all while rolling out a number of new initiatives and campaigns to reinvigorate the hospitality industry. These include the deployment of innovative technology such as mobile key, mobile check-in and mobile chat, and the new Day Pass, Stay Pass and Play Pass offerings designed to provide Marriott Bonvoy members with flexible work, stay and play options.

In total, 24 of Marriott’s 30 brands can be found in EMEA, not least The Ritz-Carlton, St Regis, The Luxury Collection, JW Marriott and W Hotels. Design Hotels, the collection of privately owned and operated properties that forms another key part of the company’s varied portfolio, will also be overseen by Anand.

The new EMEA president originally joined Marriott in 1988 when he became a night auditor for the Vienna Marriott Hotel. From here, Anand went on to hold a number of leadership positions within the group, including area vice president roles in western and central Europe, chief financial officer for Europe and board member of the AC Hotels Joint Venture. In this time, he oversaw the multimillion-dollar renovation of The Ritz-Carlton Berlin, along with the openings of The St Regis Venice and W Ibiza.

Originally from India, Anand was educated primarily in Bangalore. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bangalore MES College of Commerce and, in 1998, completed a diploma in hotel and tourism management at the International College of Tourism and Management in Semmering, Austria. He currently lives in both London and Vienna.

Marriott International is based in Bethesda, Maryland and encompasses a portfolio of more than 7,000 properties around the world.

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