Asia-Pacific Power List 2024: John Toomey, Marriott International

John Toomey 

Chief sales and marketing officer APEC (Asia-Pacific excluding China)
Marriott International
Singapore
New member

As travel demand rebounds in a post-Covid world, Marriott International’s John Toomey has led the charge as the hospitality chain’s chief sales and marketing officer in Asia Pacific, excluding China (APEC).

The region registered strong increases in revenue in 2023, driven by an uptick in international demand and sustained consumer and corporate growth. Toomey’s vision, customer-first focus and commitment to organisational excellence have been instrumental in capitalising on travel demand to super-charge APEC growth.

Toomey's tenure at Marriott spans 28 years, with 24 of those years dedicated to leading various teams across Asia Pacific. Promoted to his current role in June 2023, Toomey succeeded Bart Buiring, who moved on to become the managing director of Luxury in Greater China for Marriott. In his new capacity, Toomey oversees Consumer Operations in the region, leading a newly promoted senior leadership team from the disciplines of sales, distribution, marketing, partnerships, communications, revenue, digital, loyalty and brands to optimise hotel operations, elevate customer experience and support growth in the region.

Under Toomey's leadership, Marriott Bonvoy, the company's loyalty programme, has seen substantial growth in APEC. In 2023, the programme witnessed increased membership numbers, app downloads, in-app bookings, and redemption activities. Toomey's strategic vision in forming key partnerships has been pivotal in this success.

Notably, he led a significant partnership with Japanese digital giant Rakuten and facilitated the launch of India’s first co-branded hotel credit card, the “Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Credit Card.” Additionally, Singapore Airlines was added to Marriott’s list of partner airlines in 2023. These collaborations have enhanced the value proposition of Marriott Bonvoy, attracting new and discerning travel-minded consumers and strengthening the programme's offerings to its over 200 million members globally.

Toomey believes teamwork and a collaborative culture are critical for success. Underpinned by his motto of ‘one team, one dream,’ he applauds leaders who get out of their discipline swim lanes to swim with others to innovate and strategise. He reminds them that it’s not incrementality that delivers breakthrough results.

Instead, it is a collective transformational mindset and being unafraid of failure that raises leaders, teams and companies above the rest.