40,000 Employees Thank Marriott CEO For Defending DEI Amid Political Pressure

Daniel Johnson

Sun, May 4, 2025, 2:00 PM 3 min read

During the Great Place To Work Summit, Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano shared his sentiments regarding how the company he captains responded to the attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion unleashed by the Trump administration. Although he privately wondered if he had made the right call, he soon received confirmation from thousands of employees that he had, indeed, chosen the right path.

According to HR Grapevine, Capuano told the stakeholders present at the summit, held April 8-10 in Las Vegas, that Marriott would not waver on its promise to create opportunity for everyone who walked through the company’s doors, regardless of political pressure from the White House.

“The winds blow, but there are some fundamental truths for those 98 years,” Capuano told the audience. “We welcome all to our hotels and we create opportunities for all—and fundamentally those will never change. The words might change, but that’s who we are as a company.”

Within 24 hours of his remarks, he received a litany of emails from the company’s most important resource: its employees; and what’s more, the 40,000-plus messages thanked him for standing up for diversity, equity, and inclusion because those were values that they too believed in.