Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation Reaches Milestone and Selects Board of Directors

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In conjunction with the recent filing of Amendment No. 1 to its Form 10 Registration Statement ("Form 10") with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation announces its future board of directors. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation expects to become a publicly traded company separate from Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) by year-end 2011, becoming the world's largest pure-play timeshare company.  

The following individuals have agreed to serve as board members for Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, effective upon its spin-off from Marriott International:

• Chairman of the Board, William J. Shaw, retired this year as vice chairman from Marriott International after 37 years having served in various roles including president and chief operating officer. He was a senior leader within Marriott International at the time of the company's entry into the timeshare industry and remained actively involved in Marriott International's successful timeshare business over the course of his career. Today, he is director emeritus of Marriott International's board of directors, and he serves on the board of trustees of the University of Notre Dame, the boards of three funds in the American Family of Mutual Funds and the board of the United Negro College Fund.

• President and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen P. Weisz, is a 39 year Marriott International associate who has served in various senior leadership positions. For the past 15 years he has served as president of Marriott Vacation Club International. He is currently a member of the board of directors and a trustee of the American Resort Development Association and also presently serves on the board of trustees for Children's Miracle Network. Weisz is a graduate of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and in 2001 received an honorary doctoral degree in Business Administration from Johnson & Wales University.  

• Deborah Marriott Harrison is the senior vice president of Government Affairs at Marriott International. Her strong commitment to the community and her extensive involvement in government affairs brings valuable insights to Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation which operates in a heavily regulated industry at both the federal and state level.

• Raymond L. "Rip" Gellein, Jr. is known for his leadership as chairman and chief executive officer of Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., (formerly Vistana) and president of the Global Development Group of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. He is a 2008 recipient of the American Resort Development Association's ACE Lifetime Achievement Award. Gellein also currently serves as chairman of the board of directors of Strategic Hotels and Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: BEE).

• Thomas J. Hutchison III is a senior executive with more than 40 years of experience in the lodging, hospitality, travel, golf, real estate development and financial services industries. He has held several key executive positions over an eight year period of time: chief executive officer of CNL Hotels & Resorts, Inc., chief executive officer of CNL Retirement Properties, Inc., chief executive officer of CNL Income Properties, Inc., chief executive officer of CNL Real Estate Services, Inc., and chief executive officer of CNL Realty & Development, Inc. Hutchison is currently a director for KSL Capital Partners LLC, ClubCorp, Inc., U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Hersha Hospitality Trust.

• Melquiades R. (Mel) Martinez is chairman of Florida, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean of JPMorgan Chase & Co. He has been a business and civic leader and a role model in Florida for decades and has served the people well at both the local and national level. Martinez is the first Cuban-American to serve in the United States Senate. He was also elected Mayor of Orange County, Fla. and was appointed as the 12th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under former President George W. Bush. Martinez currently serves on the boards of Habitat International, the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness and the Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing and the Urban Land Institute.

• William W. McCarten is chairman of DiamondRock Hospitality Company (NYSE: DRH). He also served as chief executive officer of DiamondRock Hospitality Company as well as president and chief executive officer of HMS Host Corporation. Over the course of his career, he enjoyed 18 years with Marriott International in a variety of executive level positions. Today, McCarten is a director of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. and a trustee of The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. He has also served on the Jefferson Scholars Foundation National Selection Committee and the McIntire School of Commerce Advisory Board at the University of Virginia.

"We are excited to welcome these respected and accomplished individuals to the board of directors of Marriott Vacations Worldwide," said Mr. Weisz. "We are looking forward to working with them as they represent and promote the interests of shareholders with a view toward creating long-term shareholder value."

About Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation expects to be the world's largest pure-play timeshare company upon its spin-off from Marriott International, Inc. Since entering the timeshare industry in 1984, Marriott earned its position as a leader and innovator in vacation ownership products. In late 2011, Marriott Vacations Worldwide is expected to be established as a separate, publicly traded entity focusing primarily on vacation ownership experiences. The new company expects to preserve high standards of excellence in serving its customers, investors and associates while maintaining a unique relationship to Marriott International, Inc. Marriott Vacations Worldwide will offer a diverse portfolio of quality products, programs and management expertise with more than 60 resorts and over 416,000 Owners and Members. Its brands include: Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club.

Note on forward-looking statements: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws, including the information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, potential growth opportunities, potential operating performance improvements, benefits resulting from the separation of Marriott International and Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, and similar statements concerning anticipated future events and expectations that are not historical facts.  We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including changes in market conditions; unanticipated developments that prevent, delay, alter the terms of, or otherwise negatively affect the planned spin-off of the timeshare segment, and other risk factors that Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation identifies in its Form 10 registration statement or that Marriott International, Inc. identifies in its most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q. Any of these factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations we express or imply in this press release. We make these forward-looking statements as of September 13, 2011.  We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation