Romney re-joins Marriott's corporate board
(CNN) – Marriott International, Inc. announced Monday that former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney had rejoined their board of directors, a position he held prior to his White House bid.
"It is an honor to once again be able to serve in the company of leaders like Bill Marriott and Arne Sorenson and to support the work of the tens of thousands of Marriott associates who make Marriott International the renowned success that it is," Romney wrote in a statement distributed by Marriott.
The move is one of the first signs of Romney returning to his pre-election life. The former GOP nominee will be subletting space at the offices of his son Tagg's investment firm Solamere Capital in Boston, though he won't be joining the firm himself, aides said.
The former candidate has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since his Election Night remarks in Boston. He was spotted taking in the latest installment of the "Twilight" movie franchise with his family, and on Thanksgiving shared a photo with his wife Ann on his official Facebook page.
He met with President Barack Obama and his former running mate Rep. Paul Ryan in Washington last Thursday, but did not speak to reporters afterwards. A statement from the White House said Romney and Obama discussed American leadership abroad, and vowed to stay in touch.
Romney resigned from Marriott's board in January 2011, a year before the first votes in the GOP primary and caucus season. He served on the board beginning in 1993, leaving in 2002 when he served as governor of Massachusetts. He rejoined the board again in 2009.
"We are delighted that Gov. Romney has agreed to rejoin our board, on which he has served with distinction twice before," J.W. Marriott, Jr. wrote in a statement. "We will benefit from his tremendous energy and capability to guide long-term success in an increasingly complex business environment."
Marriott directors received a base pay of $60,000 and $110,000 in Marriott stock in 2011, the most recent year for which pay has been disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition they received $1,250 for every meeting they attended.
Romney has maintained a longtime friendship with members of the Marriott family, who like him are members of the Mormon church and who also own a vacation home on Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.
Speaking during church services at the Wolfeboro branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in September, J.W. Marriott Jr. credited Mitt Romney with changing Americans' perceptions about Mormonism.
"That's a great tribute to Mitt and Ann and their family for living such an exemplary life," Marriott, the head of the hotel chain, told the congregation gathered in the picturesque New Hampshire hamlet. "Now that we're out of obscurity, everybody is looking at us and saying, 'Are you as good as the Romneys?'"
The Romney and Marriott families have a long-standing friendship. Mitt Romney's father, former Michigan Gov. George Romney, named his son Willard Mitt Romney after J. Willard Marriott, the family's patriarch.
Romney's association with the company was the subject of Democratic criticism during the general election campaign. Obama's team hurled charges – pegged to an editorial on CNN.com - that Romney was involved with the reporting of a $70 million fictional tax loss when he served on Marriot's board in the nineteen-nineties.
While Romney did not face criminal charges, unlike others linked to the scandal, the authors of the editorial wrote "his endorsement of this stratagem provides insight into Romney's professional ethics and attitude toward tax compliance obligations."
CNNMoney's Chris Isidore and CNN's Jim Acosta and Rachel Streitfeld contributed to this report.
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Alot of those Marriott associates are part of the 47% that he's so fond of – I'd hate to know that he's on the board of directors if I was one of them!
Zenger – Amen to your comment!
Romney was only for the rich and his mormon cult. I beg all mormons to get educated about rapist Joseph Smith. His translations of Egyptian papyrus has proven to be false. He never saw the archangel moroni and never received any gold tablets which would have weighed 200 pounds to contain the book of mormon. 1890 and 1978 and 2011 I wonder what the mormon cult made though big decisions. Your symbols are false stolen from freemasonry.
Hahahahaha....LOSER!
Time to leave Romney alone. The fact that you can't shows you are still worried about him because you KNOW he was the most credible presidential candidate out there. At least he has class, he has brains, he understands diplomacy and what social skills that are needed to be President. Something this current president doesn't understand. And, by the way, he would not be jetting off on a $4 million dollar vacation to Hawaii at a time when the country is struggling. In fact, he would stay and get the job done, because he knows how to compromise, which this president does not know how to do.
All I can think about is when he was campaining and was asked "What do you have to say to President Obama?" His reply..."Start packing!" What a loser and he lost too! Can you imagine what would happen to the middle class/lower class if he was elected?.....to medical insurance for those who have it and those who don't?.........to our environment successes? Oh yeah, like he needs the 60K annual pay plus the 110K in stocks with Marriot. He makes over 56K DAILY from all the businesses, unions, and pensions he busted while with Baine Capitol (sp?). This lad sold his sole to the almighty buck a long time ago. I am one greatful President Obama supporter!
Hey Johnny, if Mittens "fired everybody" at Marriott who had the sense to re-elect the President, then Mittens would probably be firing 90% of Marriott's employees.
Layoffs at Marriotts worldwide, soon to be the next headline story, later this week.
I have a better suggestion! He can sit by the Fence with a gun and guard the fence from illegal mexicans! Oh! I could donate my chair if he wants one!
Yeah, almost as cool of a gig as the White House. Have fun Mittens.
Life is just one big golden parachute for the inherited rich.
Awwwww – the poor thing has to carry his own bags now. I guess Queen Ann is still crying.
Romney is a good person who has been very successful in life because of his abilities and would have made a great president. Yes, Obama won; you can stop attacking the man every time his name is mentioned. Obama was gracious in his victory – it is a sad commentary that the same cannot be said about many of his followers. And for you religious bigots, please climb back under your rocks and stay there. Bigotry is ugly, no matter what form it takes.
"are you as good as the Romneys" ????? This has to be the punch line to the joke of his campaign.
Ineptocracy
(in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) – a system of government
where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society
least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers. syn- socialism
.
II won't be staying at Marriott again.
Who cares? Thank goodness he wil never be president. "It's our turn" Not.
For you people complaing that he will be making 100k while the cafeteria lady and the desk clerk get paid crap. Maybe, they should get a student loan and go to college, so that they EARN more money and not just want to MAKE more money. Just a thought!
Good riddance loser! Get lost sucker!
No more Marriotts for us!
Never again will I stay in a Marriott!!!!!
I am an indipendent guy....President Obama is doing a great job in cleaning the hug mess created in the first place by former President George Bush but has been handicapped by the do nothing GOP congress. The people has spoken loud and clear. FOR MORE YEARS FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA!
No need to beat him like a drum; just be thankful he's gone.
Spence, you really need to re-read your post and examine it with some critical thinking skills. Do you really think all of those wonderful millionaires we produced had nothing to do with the disappearance of the great companies you bemoan the loss of?
Enron was just one company that was used to "produce" some wonderful millionaires. They "produced" themselves, for example, by feeding off of the retirement hopes of people who actually did some work all their lives.
Mitt knows one very narrow slice of the American banking industry – how to maximize profits by leveraging relatively small amounts of money, transfer it through many accounting tricks into profits rather than earned income, and avoid taxation by moving it overseas.
He's never made a small-business or mortgage loan – though he bought a set of existing loans as a guaranteed high-return investment package and now collects mortgage payments from unfortunate homeowners – or dealt with people buying CDs or trying to balance their checking accounts. He's never manufactured or sold a product, other than the soft soap of his leveraged investment opportunities.
He's certainly never faced the vicissitudes of life that Americans face, like how to pay for your kid's braces, or Mom's doctor, the mortgage or the rent.
Well, well. Just where have all of Mr. Romney's supporters and defenders gone?
@Hilda
I am missing the opportunity of a very smart, successful businessman to have been a great president.
Obama is going to take us down the hill in a situation we will never be able to get back. Time will tell and history
books wil be written. Too late for a come back!. I am for Argentina, and the history of that country is the repeat of this country. Too many wants somebody's money without the work it only takes to poverty.
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Time will tell and history books wil be written is the only truth in your prophecy .