The retirement of Marriott’s Group President for the Americas has led to a new leadership structure for the company’s international lodging business. 

After 36 years with Marriott, Dave Grissen is stepping down as group president for the Americas, the company said. 

He had overseen all of the Americas’ lodging business for Marriott — more than 5,640 properties. 

With his retirement, Marriott has named new leadership for North America and for its “International” portfolio, with Liam Brown to take over as group president for North America and Craig Smith to take on the role of group president. 

Smith’s role will include overseeing all non-North American operations for Marriott, which will also include Latin America and the Caribbean. 

“The changes we are making will help define a new era for our organization – one that will accelerate our global aspirations,” said Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott. “We are lucky to have such a deep executive bench to draw from – both Craig and Liam are superbly talented and will bring tremendous experience to these roles.”

— CJ