Lauren Hobart
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL INC /MD/About Lauren R. Hobart
Lauren R. Hobart (age 56) is an independent director of Marriott International, Inc., serving on the Board since 2023; she is President and CEO of DICK’S Sporting Goods and brings executive leadership, marketing, digital/e-commerce, and consumer engagement expertise to Marriott’s Board . The Board affirmatively determined she is independent of the Company and its management under Marriott’s Governance Principles and Nasdaq standards . At Marriott, Hobart serves on the Human Resources and Compensation Committee and the Technology and Information Security Oversight Committee . In fiscal 2024, no director attended fewer than 75% of Board and committee meetings on which they served (the Board met four times) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. | President and CEO | 2021 – Present | First non-family CEO; strategic, branding, digital/omnichannel expertise |
| DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. | President | 2017 – 2021 | Oversaw operations and growth |
| DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. | EVP, Chief Customer & Digital Officer | 2017 | Digital/customer leadership |
| DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. | EVP/ SVP, Chief Marketing Officer | 2011 – 2017 | Marketing leadership |
| PepsiCo, Inc. | Chief Marketing Officer, Carbonated Soft Drinks; senior marketing/strategy roles | 1997 – 2011 | Brand and growth leadership |
| Wells Fargo & Co. | Associate Vice President | 1993 – 1995 | Finance experience |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Account Officer | 1990 – 1993 | Finance experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Public/Private | Tenure/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. | Director (Other Current Public Company Board) | Public | Current |
| YUM! Brands | Director (Other Public Company Board within past five years) | Public | Past five years |
| DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation | President | Non-profit | Current |
Board Governance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Committees | Human Resources and Compensation (member); Technology and Information Security Oversight (member) |
| Committee mandates (high-level) | HRCC: executive pay design/oversight, succession, clawback and stock ownership policies; 5 meetings in 2024 . TISOC: technology strategy, cybersecurity/privacy oversight, AI policy oversight; 4 meetings in 2024 . |
| Independence | Determined independent by the Board in Feb 2025 . |
| Attendance | No current director attended <75% of Board/committee meetings in 2024; Board met four times . |
| Director service limits | As a public-company CEO, directors are limited to two public company boards including Marriott; Hobart’s current public company boards (DICK’S + Marriott) are within the policy . |
Fixed Compensation (Director)
| Component (2024) | Amount ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Board cash retainer | 100,000 | Standard Board retainer approved May 2024 . Hobart actual 2024 fees earned: $100,000 . |
| Committee chair/lead director fees | 0 | Not applicable; Hobart is a member, not a chair; Lead Director fee applies to Henderson . |
| Audit Committee member retainer | 0 | Only Audit members receive $20,000; Hobart is not on Audit . |
| Meeting fees | 0 | Not listed; program structured as retainers and DS awards . |
| All Other Compensation | 24,059 | Perquisites/benefits and any EDC contributions per program (e.g., Hotel Stay Benefits); Hobart 2024 actual . |
| Total Cash/Other | 124,059 | Sum of cash and other per 2024 Director Compensation Table . |
Performance Compensation (Director)
| Award Type | Grant Date | Shares Granted (#) | Grant-Date Fair Value ($) | Vesting | Performance Metrics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deferred Share Award (DS) | May 13, 2024 | 837 | 200,010 | Daily pro-rata over the term until next annual meeting; distributed post-service per election; no dividend equivalents/votes before distribution | None (director equity is time-based; no PSU metrics) |
Notes:
- DS grants are sized by dividing the $200,000 target by the average of high/low price on grant date ($238.96) .
- Director compensation program benchmarked near 50th percentile; structure: $100k cash retainer + $200k DS; additional fees for Lead Director/Chairs/Audit members as applicable .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Overlap Type | Potential Interlock/Conflict | Disclosure Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. | Hobart is CEO and director | Standard cross-board role; monitored via independence standards (e.g., compensation committee interlock criteria) | Board determined Hobart independent; no related-person transactions involving Hobart disclosed . |
| YUM! Brands (past five years) | Former public company directorship | None indicated | No related-person transactions disclosed . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Executive leadership and strategic vision; branding/marketing; e-commerce and digital operations; consumer and employee engagement; first non-family CEO of DICK’S, bringing experience relevant to family-influenced governance dynamics .
- Public company boardroom experience; relevant to HRCC/TISOC mandates around human capital, technology and cybersecurity oversight .
Equity Ownership
| Ownership Detail | Amount |
|---|---|
| Beneficially owned Marriott shares (as of March 1, 2025) | 1,980 shares . |
| Director DS/Deferred units – Vested | 1,677 units (end of 2024) . |
| Director DS/Deferred units – Unvested | 303 units (end of 2024) . |
Alignment policies:
- Director stock ownership guideline: within 5 years, hold stock/vested units ≥3x combined annual cash + stock retainers (≈9x cash retainer); must retain 50% of net after-tax shares until compliant; all directors with ≥5 years of service have met the guideline .
- Anti-hedging/anti-pledging: directors prohibited from hedging or pledging Marriott equity; independent directors cannot pledge; no pledging approvals granted in 2024 .
Governance Assessment
- Independence and fit: Hobart is an independent director with deep consumer, digital, and marketing experience aligned with Marriott’s strategy and with her roles on HRCC and TISOC; committee remits indicate active oversight of executive pay, succession, technology, cybersecurity, and AI, with 5 and 4 meetings respectively in 2024—indicating ongoing engagement .
- Attendance/engagement: All directors met ≥75% attendance in 2024; Board held four meetings; Board conducts regular executive sessions and continuing education—supporting board effectiveness .
- Compensation mix and alignment: Non-employee director pay is primarily equity via DS awards ($200,010) plus $100,000 cash retainer, aligning directors with shareholder value; no performance-conditioned equity for directors, minimizing metric gaming risk; perquisites disclosed and modest in aggregate ($24,059 for Hobart in 2024) .
- Ownership/skin-in-the-game: Hobart beneficially owns 1,980 shares and holds additional DS units; subject to robust ownership and retention guidelines and anti-hedging/pledging policies—favorable for alignment .
- Conflicts/related parties: No related-person transactions involving Hobart were identified in the 2025 proxy’s related-party transactions section; Board affirmed her independence; ongoing monitoring occurs via policy and Audit Committee oversight—low conflict risk signal .
RED FLAGS: None disclosed specific to Hobart (no pledging/hedging, no related-party transactions, no attendance issues) .