Edwin D. Fuller

Edwin D. Fuller, President and Managing Director-International Lodging at Marriott International Inc., has been named the 2012 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 15th annual International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF), scheduled for 5-7 March, at the Hotel InterContinental Berlin, Germany. The highly respected IHIF Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual who, over his or her lifetime, has made a significant difference in the hospitality industry by their actions, deeds, and great accomplishments.

Fuller has led Marriott's growth outside the continental United States from 16 hotels to more than 550 hotels today in more than 70 countries. Approximately 175 additional hotels are currently under development outside the United States. Fuller joined Marriott in 1972 as a management trainee and, in 1985, was named Regional Vice President for Marriott's Midwest Region, based in Chicago; four years later, he was appointed Regional Vice President for the Western/Pacific Region, based in Santa Ana, CA. He assumed leadership of Marriott's International Lodging operations in 1991 as Senior Vice President and Managing Director and was promoted to President and Managing Director, his current position, in 1997. He has been an Executive Corporate Officer since 1997 and chairs the International Development committee.

Earlier in his career, Fuller was credited with establishing Marriott International's original international reservations network, The Marquis Club, and its sales and marketing organization in Europe and the Middle East. He served as a Board Member and Chairman of SNR International, a reservations consortium based in Zurich.

"Ed has had an important role in Marriott's international growth over the years, and has played an integral role in guiding Marriott's operations through difficult times in areas of significant regional turbulence such as the Middle East and Africa," said Marilyn McHugh, Director of Global Hospitality Events part of the Questex Hospitality Group, co-organiser of IHIF. "We are proud to recognize his achievements and his phenomenal success at IHIF 2012."

"Ed is a true leader for the industry and his book 'You can't Lead with your Feet on the Desk' is another perfect example of how he sets the standard for the rest of us to follow," stated Jonathan Worsley, Chairman and CEO of Bench Events, co-organiser of IHIF. "He is a true inspiration to us all and we are in awe of the many legendary accomplishments he has made both within Marriott and the industry at large. We congratulate him on celebrating 39 years with Marriott and we are honoured to have him join the elite list of Lifetime Achievement award winners."

Fuller graduated in 1968 from Boston University, having also attended Wake Forest University. He also completed the Harvard Graduate School of Business Advanced Management Program, and served as a Captain in the U.S. Army in Germany and Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal. He currently serves on the advisory boards of BU's hotel and business schools, where he is Chairman of the Hospitality Board, and was recently appointed Vice Chairman of the Boston University Board of Overseers. He is Chairman of the Advisory Board at the University of California Irvine, Merage Graduate School of Business and was recently appointed to the California State University Hospitality industry Advisory Board. In 2010, he was named a Commissioner of Travel and Tourism for the State of California and, earlier this year, was named Emeritus Member of the Travel Industry and Tourism Management School Advisory Board at the University of Hawaii.

The Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is selected by a committee comprised of the IHIF's Patrons, Sponsors, Hosts, and Organizers.

Previous Lifetime Achievement Award winners, in no particular order, include: Isadore Sharpe, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts; Lord Forte, Forte Hotels; Gabriel Escarrer, Sol Melia; Paul Dubrule & Gerard Pellison, Accor; Georg Rafael, Rafael Hotels; Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Carlson; PRS Oberoi, Oberoi Hotels; Kurt Ritter, Rezidor; Jim Sherwood, Orient-Express; Sir David Michels, Hilton International, Michael Hirst OBE, CB Richard Ellis Hotels and Alan Parker CBE, Chief Executive of Whitbread plc.

IHIF is known as THE place where deals get done and is Europe's largest gathering of senior-level global hotel industry leaders. Visit berlinconference.com for programme details (coming soon) and to register for the 2012 event.

About Questex

Questex Hospitality Group, a division of Questex LLC, represents a senior audience of $650 billion in hotel assets, reaching one in two hotel owners and operators across the globe. With a portfolio of both media and live events, including Hospitality Investor, Annual Hotel Conference (AHC), International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF), and Resort & Residential Hospitality Forum (R&R), Questex Hospitality Group brings together leaders in hospitality investment, development and operations to make the deals that shape recovery and growth in the sector.

Christina Belenky
Group Marketing Director
216.706.3731
Questex

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