Robert J. McCarthy, is the founder and chairman of McCarthy Investments LLC and is an American hotel executive. He is the former Chief Operations Officer of Marriott International. McCarthy is chairman of Hotel Development Partners LLC, a hotel developer focused on Marriott and Hilton brands.
Career and education
McCarthy began his career as a waiter in a Marriott restaurant in 1975. In 1982, he was a Regional Director of Sales/Marketing for Marriott Hotels, Resorts and Suites, Director of Marketing for Marriott Suite Hotels/Compact Hotels in 1985, then Vice President, Operations and Marketing for Fairfield Inn in 1987 and Vice President, Operations for Courtyard/Fairfield Inn in 1991 and Senior Vice President for the Northeast Region for Marriott Lodging from 1995 to 2000. Later he was appointed as Executive Vice-President of Operations for Marriott from 2000 to 2003; as an Executive Vice President and then President of North American Lodging Operations at Marriott International Inc. from 2003 to 2009 and Group President from 2009 until February 2012. He served as the Chief Operations Officer of Marriott International, Inc. from March 31, 2012 to February 2014. He retired from Marriott International in March 2014, where he spent 38 years and oversaw Global Lodging Services, The Ritz Carlton, and shared reporting responsibilities for Marriott’s four continental operating divisions.
Affiliations to Boards and Organizations
McCarthy founded McCarthy Investments, LLC in 2014 and serves as its chairman. In September 2014 he was appointed chairman of Atlanta-based Hotel Development Partners. McCarthy is also an investor and board member of MeetingPlay, a technology company serving the hospitality industry. He is also a partner and an advisor in Armature Works, a Washington, D.C. project.
McCarthy was appointed to the Board of Trustees of RLJ Lodging Trust in February 2018, where he serves on the nominating and corporate governance committee.
He has been an independent director of Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. since July 15, 2015 where he serves on the audit and compensation committees and leads the regulatory and compliance oversight committee.
McCarthy served as a director of the ServiceSource Foundation an organization supporting people with disabilities.
