His fifth General Manager's posting reflects a meteoric rise in his
career.  He was most recently the pre-opening General Manager of JW Marriott Shanghai in Tomorrow Square on Nanjing Road.  Prior to this he held various general manager's positions concurrent with area market responsibilities in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, Overland Park, Kansas and Orlando, Florida.  His first international posting was in Nassau, The Bahamas as GM to the group's flagship resort hotel and casino.

He replaces Ed Towfighnia who was promoted to head the San Juan Marriott in Puerto Rico also as General Manager.

Mr Conklin has also had corporate responsibility while in charge of operations for the Fairfield Inns and as Director of Planning for Marriott Hotels and Resorts.

After his Business Administration degree, majoring in Hotel Management from the University of Denver in 1978, he took on a corporate traineeship and after a year went back to school completing his MBA with Washington State University, School of Hotel Administration.  He also completed the Executive Program at the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business in 2000.

Aside from his wealth of experience, Mr Conklin models the core values that are deeply ingrained within the Marriott management style.  "I will take the first sixty days to listen, learn and lead my team to success," stated Mr Conklin.

One of his guiding tenets involve the underlying principle that the founder Mr John Willard Marriott espoused more than 75 years ago, "If we take care of each other, we will be able to take better care of our guests."  Mr Conklin believes that we should first treat our associates with respect and only then can we move forward and as a team to look after our guests.

When asked why 'associates' as opposed to 'employees', he perceptively explains, "Employees work for you while associates work with you.  It is a partnership that we strive to build while focusing on the customer.  Work is then perceived as an opportunity for growth and an opportunity for self-development."

Mr Conklin is married with three daughters and loves sports.