Marriott has been recognized by Black Enterprise magazine as one of top "40 Best Companies for Diversity", for the third consecutive year -

Marriott was one of only two lodging companies to make the list, ranking among the 15 best in Workforce Diversity and 15 Best in Board Diversity. More than 1,000 of America's largest publicly traded companies and 50 leading global companies completed in the survey.

"Marriott's legacy of diversity and inclusion was significantly advanced by Dave Sampson who served as our senior vice president of diversity initiatives until May of this year," said J.W. Marriott, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer. "For 18 years, Dave Sampson led the company's diversity efforts with the creation of its award-winning supplier diversity program, helped to establish the Committee for Excellence and identified top minority talent for management positions. We accept this year's recognition in his honor as we commit to continuing his work for decades to come."

Established in 2003, Marriott's Committee for Excellence, headed by Debra Lee, chairman and CEO of BET Networks, has led the corporation to achieve ambitious diversity goals. In 2005, the company set a goal to spend $1 billion with diverse suppliers and have 500 hotels owned, managed or in the pipeline by 2010. To date, Marriott has more than 400 hotels currently owned, managed or in the pipeline as a part of Marriott's Diversity Ownership Initiative, and spent a record of $400 million with diverse suppliers last year. Additionally, Marriott has rolled out its nationally recognized English- learning program, Sed de Saber, which teaches English and work-life skills to Spanish-speaking employees.

"Marriott International has invested in developing a solid track record for its diversity and inclusion initiatives," said Black Enterprise President and CEO Butch Graves. "Its reputation as a leader in the hospitality industry is well deserved."

Marriott has received broad recognition for its diversity initiatives for several years. Most recently, DiversityInc named Marriott to its "Top 50 Companies for Diversity" list for the fourth consecutive year. FORTUNE magazine has recognized Marriott as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" for the past ten years, and Essence magazine named Marriott one of the "Top 25 Places to Work" for African-American women. Additionally, Hispanic Trends magazine recognized Marriott as one of the "Top 50 Corporations for Supplier Diversity".

The special report on the best companies for diversity, including methodology and selection criteria, will be featured in the July issue of Black Enterprise magazine. For more information on Marriott's diversity initiatives, visit their website.