Marriott Shuffles Sales Execs, Names Patterson SVP

Marriott International has named former SVP of global growth and delivery Shannon Patterson its new SVP of global sales as part of a broader shakeup of the top of its sales organization, the company announced Thursday. Patterson replaces longtime SVP of global sales Tammy Routh, who now is commercial performance leader for The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, a company cruise unit.

Other moves announced Wednesday include the appointment of former Marriott and National Football League executive Andy Kauffman as chief commercial officer of the U.S. and Canada and Gail Frazer as SVP of sales and distribution for the U.S. and Canada.

Patterson has been with Marriott for nearly 30 years, holding positions including SVP of Marriott's customer engagement centers and SVP of planning and services for brand, marketing, sales and consumer services, according to her LinkedIn profile. As SVP of global growth and delivery, a position she held since 2023, her responsibilities included "forging new business partnerships, overseeing the annual pricing process for Marriott's corporate accounts, and providing sales and marketing enablement tools," the company said in a statement.

Routh served as SVP of global sales since 2016. She has been with the company in a variety of corporate and on-property positions since 1983. 

Kauffman most recently served as the NFL's SVP of marketing strategy and science but previously spent 11 years with Marriott, including a stint as SVP of marketing channels and optimization. He replaces Julius Robinson, who since 2020 had served as chief sales and marketing officer for the U.S. and Canada and now serves as chief operations officer for the U.S. West.

Frazer has spent nearly 25 years with Marriott, most recently as managing vice president of sales and distribution for premium and luxury hotels of the U.S. Eastern region. Marriott in a statement noted her corporate sales experience, noting a prior position in which she was "responsible for leading Sales for the Corporate segment within Marriott’s corporate global sales organization, representing Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of brands to the largest multi-national corporate B2B customers." She replaces Brian Gilligan, who now serves as Northeast regional vice president of Premium Brands. 

Marriott president and CEO Anthony Capuano told BTN last week at the Americas Lodging and Investment Summit in Los Angeles and before the latest moves were announced that the company's reorganization was “an ongoing exercise.” The process late last year included the layoff of hundreds of corporate positions.

"We really just looked and said, 'Are we empowering our leaders in the field so that we can streamline decision-making? Are we optimally organized? Are we focused on the right [key performance indicators]?' " Capuano told BTN. "That was really the driver of the work. There were some modifications to sales, but some of that evaluation is still ongoing."