Senior Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property, Brand, and Commercial Services

Marriott International, Inc., based in Bethesda, Maryland, is a worldwide operator, franchisor, and licensor of hotel, residential, timeshare, and other lodging properties under more than 30 brand names. Marriott’s Law Department supports all aspects of the Company’s business and provides legal advice and counsel to Marriott’s internal clients.

The Senior Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property, Brand, and Commercial Services, leads the legal teams supporting enterprise-critical areas of Marriott’s business, including intellectual property, brand, marketing, and commercial services.

The Intellectual Property practice oversees worldwide intellectual property rights for Marriott and its affiliates and business units, including Marriott’s global hotel brand portfolio and extensive trademark and copyright assets. The team manages Marriott’s trademark portfolio and handles trademark clearances, applications, registrations, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement, infringement matters, copyright and patent matters, trade secrets, and IP support for lodging transactions, mergers, acquisitions, and affiliations. 

The Commercial Services practice supports the brand, loyalty, distribution, payments, marketing, financial services, and related disciplines. The team advises on Marriott’s commercial-facing commerce and customer engagement activities, including distribution channels, the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, strategic partnerships, co-branded credit cards, payments, sweepstakes, promotions, adtech, sponsorships, endorsements, and other initiatives and lines of business. The team provides practical legal solutions, negotiates complex agreements, and counsels colleagues on all aspects of the company’s non-lodging business to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulatory guidance.

This leader serves as a senior legal and business advisor on complex, high-impact matters involving intellectual property rights, commercial-facing business strategy, brand protection, commercial transactions, marketing, customer experience, strategic partnerships, and new lines of business and business models. They will collaborate closely with Law Department colleagues in the technology, privacy and data governance disciplines, as well as colleagues supporting hotel development and other transactions. The role requires enterprise-level judgment, cross-functional leadership, and the ability to anticipate legal, regulatory, reputational, operational, and commercial risk across Marriott’s global business.

The Senior Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property, Brand, and Commercial Services, will report to the Senior Vice President & Associate General Counsel, Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, Brand, and Commercial Services, manage attorneys, paralegals, and legal professionals, and serve as a senior leader within the Law Department.

Successful candidates should possess the experience, judgment, leadership capability, and skills required to operate as a senior Law Department leader advising on complex, enterprise-level legal and business matters.

Required

• Excellent academic record with a law degree from a well-regarded law school.
• Active Bar membership in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• Minimum of fifteen (15) years of legal experience in a law firm of national reputation, major corporate law department, or comparable environment.
• Substantial experience overseeing an intellectual property law practice, including trademark clearance, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement, licensing, infringement, copyright, patent, trade secret, and IP-related transactional issues, as well as advising on and negotiating intellectual property rights in brand and marketing initiatives, strategic partnerships, and hotel franchise and management agreements.
• Experience overseeing, advising on and negotiating complex commercial transactions, emerging platforms and technologies in the payments, marketing, financial services, and distribution spaces, loyalty programs, strategic partnerships, brand protection, and related legal issues.
• Demonstrated ability to lead a legal function or major legal portfolio with significant autonomy, accountability, and strategic impact.
• Experience managing, developing, and motivating attorneys, paralegals, and legal professionals.

Executive Judgment and Legal Leadership

• Proven ability to advise senior executives and business leaders with enterprise-level judgment, balanced risk assessment, and practical, business-oriented recommendations.
• Proven contract drafting, negotiation, and interpretation skills, including experience overseeing complex commercial agreements and related risk.
• Ability to identify, analyze, and resolve novel and complex legal issues in new markets, new collaborations, and evolving commercial-facing business models.

Technology, Innovation and Process Improvement

• Demonstrated technology fluency and ability to leverage technology, automation, data, knowledge management, artificial intelligence, workflow tools, and innovative ways of working to improve legal service delivery, efficiency, decision-making, and business outcomes.
• Ability to identify opportunities for improvement and implement scalable processes and solutions.

Communication, Collaboration and Influence

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to interact effectively and diplomatically with senior executives, business leaders, Law Department colleagues, outside counsel, and cross-functional partners.
• Ability to foster relationships, accountability, collaboration, and trust across the organization.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to translate complex legal issues into clear, practical advice.
• Strong conflict management skills and ability to drive alignment without damaging relationships.

Execution, Integrity and Adaptability

• Ability to work independently, take ownership of issues, manage competing priorities, and resolve problems thoughtfully.
• Strong business ethics, personal integrity, diligence, dependability, and work ethic.
• High energy, intellectual curiosity, adaptability, and enthusiasm for supporting Marriott’s business and developing others.
• Availability for travel.

The role will lead the legal support for Marriott’s intellectual property, brand, marketing, and commercial services work, including:

Leadership, Strategy and Team Management

• Leading and managing the Intellectual Property, Brand, and Commercial Services legal teams, including setting priorities, managing workload, developing talent, setting legal strategy, and ensuring high-quality legal service.
• Advising senior executives, business leaders and Law Department colleagues on complex legal, commercial, regulatory, reputational, and operational issues affecting Marriott’s commercial-facing business and global brand portfolio.

Intellectual Property and Brand Protection

• Overseeing and managing Marriott’s intellectual property portfolio, including trademark clearance, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement, infringement claims, copyright and patent matters, licensing, trade secrets, and IP-related transactional matters.

Commercial Services, Brand and Commercial Support

• Providing and overseeing legal support for Marriott’s non-lodging commercial business, including the loyalty program, distribution channels, co-branded credit cards, payments, financial services, marketing, promotions, sponsorships, adtech, endorsements, and related commercial-facing initiatives. Oversee negotiation, drafting, interpretation, and execution of complex commercial, licensing, strategic partnership, marketing, distribution, payments, and related agreements.

Risk Management and Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Identifying and managing legal and business risks associated with intellectual property rights, consumer-facing commerce, customer engagement, brand protection, and other cross-functional issues.
• Coordinating with Law Department practice groups and business disciplines, including privacy, cybersecurity, technology, tax, compliance, dispute resolution, development, operations, marketing, sales, revenue management, loyalty, finance, and Continent teams.
• Managing outside counsel and external advisors, including strategy, budgets, performance, and alignment with Marriott’s objectives.
• Keeping senior leadership apprised of significant legal developments, risks, opportunities, costs, trends, and strategic considerations.

Training, Innovation and Department Leadership

• Developing practical training for business clients and Law Department colleagues with respect to the intellectual property and consumer services practice areas.
• Championing process improvements, technology adoption, knowledge management, automation, and scalable ways of working to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of legal support.
• Participating in Law Department leadership initiatives, department-wide priorities, cross-functional committees, talent development efforts, and special projects.
• Promoting a collaborative, inclusive, high-performing team culture grounded in Marriott’s values and leadership expectations.

At Marriott International, we are dedicated to being an equal opportunity employer, welcoming all and providing access to opportunity. We actively foster an environment where the unique backgrounds of our associates are valued and celebrated. Our greatest strength lies in the rich blend of culture, talent, and experiences of our associates.  We are committed to non-discrimination on any protected basis, including disability, veteran status, or other basis protected by applicable law.