Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ: MAR) has appointed Tristan Cooper to the newly created position of Director of Hotel Development for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

The appointment will support Marriott’s rapid expansion in the region – which recently celebrated the milestone opening of their 1000th property in Asia Pacific, and anticipates adding 100 hotels to the portfolio, roughly two per week, in 2023.

Tristan will be based in Sydney, reporting to the Marriott’s Vice President of Hotel Development for the region, Richard Crawford.

Announcing his appointment, Richard Crawford said: “It’s no secret that as a NASDAQ listed company, and the largest hotel company on the world, our shareholders demand growth. We are certainly upholding our end of the bargain here in the Australia Pacific region, and Tristan’s appointment will add important fire power to help execute our assertive expansion efforts.”

“When Marriott acquired Starwood in 2016, Marriott operated just six hotels in our region. Today, we have 43 open hotels, and another 20 agreements signed, meaning we will move from six hotels to more than 60 hotels by 2027. Tristan’s appointment will enable us to focus on our strategic growth objectives that centre around transitioning existing hotels to the Marriott network, expanding our franchise footprint, and focusing on the select service segment.”

Tristan Cooper has led Marriott’s feasibility planning department in Australia since joining the company in 2019, holding a Bachelor of Property Economics with Honours from the University of Technology, Sydney.

“In his four years with our business, Tristan has proven himself to be a highly respected and talented executive. I couldn’t be more excited for Tristan to advance his career with this opportunity”, said Richard Crawford.

Mr. Cooper said, “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Marriott and am delighted to be taking this next step with the business.  It comes at a point in time when we are enjoying a record period of growth in Asia Pacific, having just opened our 1,000th hotel in the region.”

“Beyond the numbers, the depth in brands and quality of hotels we have been both signing and opening is particularly exciting.  Right now, we can say without challenge, that Marriott operates the most diverse, highest quality, and best performing hotels in the Asia Pacific region, with Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands being a key contributor to this. I very much look forward to working with Richard and contributing to the next phase of Marriott’s growth”.