Marriott and Gensler CEOs link design to returns

Design as – Jordan Goldstein and Anthony Capuano—now CEOs of Gensler and Marriott International respectively—recount how their decade-long collaboration began with designing Marriott’s global headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. They argue that architecture is no longer ju

When Jordan Goldstein and Anthony Capuano talk about design, it isn’t the kind of conversation that stays in boardroom mood boards. It’s about whether buildings can pull people in—or keep them isolated.

Goldstein and Capuano started working together 10 years ago on a pilot project. then collaborated more closely about eight years ago when Marriott International selected Gensler to design the hotel giant’s global headquarters building in Bethesda. Maryland. At the time, Goldstein led global design and served as a co-regional managing principal for the architecture firm. Capuano was executive vice president and global chief development officer for Marriott.

Today, both are CEOs of their respective companies. Goldstein is co-CEO of Gensler with Elizabeth Brink. Capuano leads Marriott. In a discussion with Modern CEO, they framed design as a business lever—especially as leaders reassess what matters after years of cost-cutting and remote-work pivots.

Goldstein said that 15 or 20 years ago, architecture conversations with CEOs tended to focus on the cost of the building. “Now it’s about the talent. ” he said. pointing to how design can draw people in and help them build platforms for innovation. collaboration. and learning. He tied those ideas directly to the headquarters they worked on together. explaining that during the eight years on the project. Capuano was involved from the beginning and through the entire journey—particularly near the end as they thought about what a post-COVID return to office would require. The goal, Goldstein said, was to make the building a magnet for people to be there.

Capuano, for his part, welcomed CEO involvement while making the value of that involvement feel unusually personal. “It’s terrific that CEOs get involved in architecture,” he said. Then he added a playful warning: Goldstein “doesn’t know anything about it. ” meaning he doesn’t come up through architecture training. Instead. Capuano described Goldstein as masterful at letting the team “pretend to be architects and designers. ” then sifting through “all the silliness” to focus on what the company is trying to accomplish.

That focus matters, Capuano argued, because Marriott has to translate design into customer experience. The most common words he said Marriott hears from guests are “local and authentic.” Architecture and design. he said. are among the easiest and most impactful ways to create a sense of place—from the minute guests arrive in the porte cochere. He described a hotel reality that is more urgent than people often imagine: guests often show up at 11 o’clock at night. when there may be only one agent behind the front desk juggling multiple responsibilities. In those moments. Capuano said. architecture and design do the storytelling. because Marriott is “not fortunate enough to have a human being to tell that story.”.

Design also changed how the headquarters functions internally. Capuano compared the new building with Marriott’s previous headquarters. a million square feet across six floors that he said had almost a government feel to it. He described it as uncomfortable—something people learned to live with after spending decades there. In that older space. Capuano said he could sit on the sixth floor and never see anybody on two-thirds of that floor because the square footage was so expansive.

The new headquarters, designed by Gensler, was built to interrupt that pattern. Capuano said the vertical layout created “unintended collisions.” In practice. he told Modern CEO that whenever he goes to the elevator or tries to go to the cafeteria. he runs into people from different disciplines and different parts of the company. He linked those intersections to outcomes that are hard to quantify until you’ve seen them: great innovation and creativity. and idea generation that comes from unexpected collisions.

For business leaders trying to get up to speed on design thinking. Capuano offered advice that sounds simple until you understand what he means by it. He said his job allows him to travel widely and that he goes out of his way—either self-guided or. when available. with guided architectural tours—to see cities up close. He described touring by boat in Chicago and by foot in Vietnam. Sometimes he goes with his wife and the

two compare notes. trading favorites and criticisms: he might say the best building he saw was a certain one; she might answer that it was the ugliest building she’d ever seen. The back-and-forth, he said, is a reminder that design and architecture are personal. To take design seriously. Capuano said leaders need to be “insatiably curious. ” and he argued that having a friend like Goldstein helps translate a novice perspective into something more usable.

Goldstein added an approach that turns the idea of design fluency into a habit. He said he loves what Capuano described about experiencing the cities you’re in. building in time to walk around. and visiting places that have to work—an airport at rush hour. a stadium on game day. a hotel lobby in the morning. The point. Goldstein said. is to absorb what makes those spaces work well and what makes them not work so well.

Design wasn’t the only creativity workflow discussed in the larger Modern CEO segment. The newsletter also focused on how executives brought learnings from Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity into business planning. The best answer came from Alberto Hernandez. chief growth officer of Opella. the consumer healthcare company that produces medicine-cabinet staples including Icy Hot. Aspercreme. and Allegra. Hernandez’s portfolio includes six global brands and capabilities such as consumer engagement and e-commerce. He sends 10 to 11 people to Cannes each year and said the team determines three strategic focus areas before the festival. People in charge of the program arrange meetings based on those themes. and the team moves through Cannes together. taking notes. The process culminates in a full day to develop a seven-point plan that Hernandez approves and then presents to the CEO.

Hernandez described Cannes as both inspiration and a tool for decision-making. saying it’s “not only a source of inspiration. ” but also “a source of information for strategic choices.” The segment also noted that conferences like Cannes Lions are growing in importance. citing survey results from Cvent: 66% of event planners surveyed said face-to-face meetings are more important now than pre-pandemic.

The thread linking all of these examples is straightforward: for Marriott and Gensler, design is not a decorative afterthought. It is a system for bringing people together. telling the right story at the right moment. and creating space—literal and social—for innovation to happen. For the leaders watching from elsewhere. it becomes an invitation to do the unglamorous work: walk through working buildings. tour cities. and treat creativity as something you can plan for—then build.

Marriott Gensler Jordan Goldstein Anthony Capuano design thinking architecture global headquarters Bethesda customer experience innovation collaboration Cannes Lions Opella Alberto Hernandez Cvent