Marriott International today announced the appointment of Priya Sharma as Chief Food & Beverage Officer, a newly created role that will oversee culinary, beverage, and restaurant operations across Marriott's portfolio of more than 9,000 properties worldwide. ## Background and mandate Sharma joins Marriott from Hyatt Hotels Corporation, where she served as Senior Vice President of Global Food & Beverage for six years and led the rollout of Hyatt's Independent Collection restaurant strategy. Earlier in her career, she held culinary leadership roles at Four Seasons and was a partner in the Michelin-starred restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. "Priya brings rare combination of culinary credibility and operational scale," said Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano. "Food and beverage is no longer ancillary to the hospitality experience — it is increasingly the reason guests choose a property." ## Why it matters For industry operators, this is another data point in the structural change reshaping the markets sector. Watch for follow-on moves from competitors and reactions from key channel partners in the coming quarters. Sharma will report directly to Capuano and join the Marriott executive committee effective June 1. For more industry intelligence built for operators, explore [Food & Beverage Magazine's coverage](/markets) and [our latest industry analysis](/markets/industry-trends). Have a take on this story? Drop a comment below — we want to hear how it's playing out in your operation. Written by Michael Politz, Author of [Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1)](https://www.amazon.com/Beverage-Magazines-Guide-Restaurant-Success/dp/1119668964), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.