Erika L. Alexander is the Chief Global Officer, Global Operations, for Marriott International, the world’s largest hospitality company. As the chief executive responsible for the hotel operations discipline globally, her organization focuses on elevating the guest experience, enhancing hotel operating models, and supporting growth. Areas under Erika’s leadership shape the hotel experience and include global quality, rooms and food and beverage, meetings and events, sustainable operations, supplier diversity, procurement, program and brand operations, and system and platform support. Erika started her Marriott career more than 30 years ago in direct sales. From there, she’s led hotel operations, served as general manager in select- and full-service hotels, Regional Vice President of Select Brands, Area Vice President Americas-Eastern Region, Chief Lodging Services Officer, Americas, and held brand leadership roles within the extended stay segment. The common thread is her ability to tackle complex operational issues, inspire and elevate the people around her, and her passion for developing talent. Erika has been named an International Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation Fellow and has been recognized by the Atlanta Business League as one of the Top 100 Influential Women in Atlanta. She is also a past recipient of Marriott’s Diversity and Inclusion Trailblazer Award.She currently serves on the La-Z-Boy Board of Directors and CollegeTracks, a Montgomery County, Md. organization to empower first-generation-to-college students to thrive, and was recently accepted into the Executive Leadership Council. In addition, Erika has served on several Atlanta-area non-profit boards, including Leadership Atlanta, the Atlanta Children’s Shelter, The Ron Clark Academy and the executive committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Erika holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MBA from George Mason University. She and her husband, Vincent Barbour, live in Atlanta with their dog, Payton.