Merging Marriott and Starwood Corporate Cultures, According to Marriott’s HR Chief
Photo Credit: A promotional image of a Marriott front-desk employee. Upon the completion of its merger with Starwood, the combined company will have more than 500,000 employees. Marriott International
Skift Take
The one thing about mergers and acquisitions that isn't usually discussed? Bringing different company cultures together. That'll be key to the success of Marriott's acquisition of Starwood, and Marriott's Global Chief Human Resources Officer David Rodriguez knows it.
Now that Marriott's acquisition of Starwood has a closing date, and no last-minute third-party by the name of Anbang can interfere, the monumental effort begins to bring together these two companies and their combined more than 500,000 employees.
All of this needs to be accomplished while Marriott also implements $250 million in synergies — a.k.a. cost savings and job cuts — most of which will be gleaned from the top of Starwood's executive team.
The CEOs of Marriott, Expedia, Club Med, and More Are Speaking at Skift Global Forum 2016. Join Us.
A key player in this process is David Rodriguez, Marriott executive vice president and global chief human resources officer. Rodriguez, who's been with Marriott for the past 18 years, sat down with Skift at the NYU International Hospitality Investment Conference in June to talk about the importance of getting the integration of the two companies right, addressing those $250 million in synergies, and building a great company culture
