Edwin Fuller
Chairman, Board of Trustees
BTM Institute
A distinguished leader with four decades of top performance at a Fortune 500 corporation, Edwin “Ed” Fuller possesses a truly comprehensive understanding of global business operations. As Marriott International, Inc.’s President and Managing Director of the International Lodging Division since 1991, Ed has strategically expanded locations and driven the financial success of all hotels outside of the contiguous United States. His sound decision-making has increased gross sales from $325M to $7B, with numbers growing monthly as expansion continues.
Ed is the author of You Can't Lead With Your Feet On the Desk: Building Relationships, Breaking Down Barriers, and Delivering Profits (Wiley, March 2011), which quickly became a top 20 best selling business book. By sharing his own experiences through dynamic storytelling, he provides readers with insight into achieving success by creating lasting connections and strong cross-cultural relationships in a global market.
A talented brand developer with a solid foundation in sales and marketing management, Ed’s visionary leadership and long-range thinking has proven instrumental to the organization, founding a network of more than 400 hotels with 175 currently under construction across 70+ countries worldwide. The end result is the highlight of Ed’s impressive career: the creation of 72,000 new jobs on six continents, each one being fully integrated with the prevailing Marriott culture and philosophies and committed to providing first-rate customer service.
Exploding the visibility of Marriott overseas, Ed directed the integration of Renaissance, Swallow, New World, Whitbread PLC, and Scotts Hotel chains. In addition, he conceived of and led global brand creation of J.W. Marriott Hotels (consisting of 64 properties in 19 countries) and Marriott Executive Apartments (21 properties). With such dramatic growth comes its own challenges, and Ed displayed great skill in anticipating and addressing the needs of this rapidly expanding organization.
At the start of his career, Ed quickly advanced to more significant roles and worked his way up to Vice President and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer in only seven years after hire. He is credited with implementing the company’s first automated international reservation system, and markedly strengthened the sales force throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Middle East. From 1985 to 1990, Ed held the roles of Regional Vice President of Western and Pacific Regions and Regional Vice President of Midwest and Canada.
Passionate about giving back to the community, Ed contributes his expertise to multiple higher education and youth initiatives and is a dedicated steward of the environment focused on sustainability and lowering consumption rates. Among his many memberships, Ed serves on Boston University’s Board of Overseers, as Chairman of the Schools Advisory Board at University of California Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, on the California State University System's Hospitality Industry Advisory Board, and on the Board of Trustees with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). He devotes his time and energies to The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) as Chairman of the Governing Board of International Tourism Partnership, Safe Kids Worldwide on the Board of Directors, as Trustee of the University of California Irvine (UCI) Foundation, and the United Way. Ed currently serves as Commissioner of Travel and Tourism for the State of California. He is also a former Trustee of Boston University.
Ed earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University, where he has been formally recognized with the Boston University Alumni Award in 1999 and School of Management Alumni Award for Service to Alma Mater in 1992. He completed the Harvard School of Business Advanced Management Program. Ed has been recognized with several awards throughout his career, including Hotel Investment Forum India (HIFI) Aatithya Ratna Award, 2010; China Hotel Investment Summit, 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award; and Marriott Chairman's Award, 1999. A former Captain in the United States Army, he was awarded the Bronze Star and an Army Commendation Medal for his exemplary service to his country during missions in Vietnam and Germany.