The chief executive of Marriott International has pancreatic cancer and will begin treatment next week, the Bethesda-based hotel company announced Friday.
Arne Sorenson, who worked his way up the ranks of the company since his 1996 hiring, plans to stay on the job while undergoing treatment, the company said.
“The cancer was discovered early,” Sorenson, 60, said in a statement. “It does not appear to have spread and the medical team – and I – are confident that we can realistically aim for a complete cure.”
The cancer in stage 2 was diagnosed Wednesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and Sorenson will begin chemotherapy next week and have surgery later in the year, according to the company announcement and a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Stage 2 is considered an early phase of the aggressive cancer and typically cancer cells have not spread to other parts of the body, according to an American Cancer Society data sheet.
Sorenson is the first CEO who is not a member of the founding Marriott family. He became CEO in 2012 after serving as president and chief operating officer.
Three years ago, Sorenson completed Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which made it the world’s largest hotelier.
Marriott will move from its longtime Rockledge corporate campus next decade to a headquarters building under construction in downtown Bethesda.
