Good morning. I'm David Marriott, Chairman of the Board of Marriott International. It's my pleasure to welcome you to the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Thank you for joining us today. As is our custom, we will conduct the business portion of our meeting first and then answer questions at the end of the meeting. You may vote or submit a question now online. Though we may not be able to answer every question, we will do our best to provide a response to as many as possible, and we will address unanswered questions after the meeting. As a reminder, any questions submitted should be pertinent to Marriott International and meeting matters and must be in accordance with the rules of conduct, which are posted on the meeting website. Now, I'd like to officially call the meeting to order. Let me introduce the other members of the Board of Directors.
First, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Capuano. In addition, Marriott's board members include Bella Goren, Debbie Marriott Harrison, Fritz Henderson, Lauren Hobart, Debi Lee, Aylwin Lewis, Meg McCarthy, Grant Reid, Horacio Rozanski, Susan Schwab, and Sean Tresvant. In addition to the members of the board, our Corporate Secretary, Andy Wright, and our Executive Vice President and Global Counsel, Rena Reese, are also on the line, along with other members of the management team. Our Corporate Secretary has reported to me that, in compliance with our bylaws, the mailing of the notice of this meeting began on March 27, 2025, to stockholders of record as of March 12, 2025. He also reports that a majority of the issued and outstanding shares are represented on this call. Accordingly, a quorum exists. The polls are open on all matters.
As a first order of business, the agenda for the matters to be voted on at today's meeting has been set forth and described in the proxy statement. Because these matters have been described in the proxy statement, I will not go into detail here. The first item of business is the election of the 13 director nominees listed in the proxy statement to serve as directors until the 2026 Annual Meeting. The second item of business is the ratification of the appointment of ERNST & YOUNG LLP, as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2025. The third item of business is an advisory non-binding vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers. The Board of Directors recommends a vote in favor of each director nominee and in favor of the second and third items.
As you know, stockholders were able to vote by mail, phone, or online before today's meeting and were able to submit questions online. You may also vote or submit a question now online. As a reminder, any questions submitted should be pertinent to Marriott International and the meeting matters and must be in accordance with the rules of conduct, which are posted on the meeting website. We will pause briefly for any final votes or questions. The polls are now closed. Here is the outcome of the voting based on preliminary voting results. Each of the director nominees was elected. Item two, the ratification of ERNST & YOUNG LLP as the company's independent accounting firm for fiscal year 2025 was approved. Item three, the advisory vote to approve executive compensation was approved. We will provide final result figures once the numbers are confirmed as final by the inspector of election.
This concludes the formal agenda for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Marriott International Stockholders. The meeting is officially adjourned and will now address questions that were submitted before and during the meeting. I want to remind you that some of our remarks in response to questions may not be historical facts and may be considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, as described in our SEC filings, which could cause future results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by our comments. As I mentioned before, I'm joined this morning by Anthony Capuano, our President and CEO, and other members of the board and management team. Good morning, Thony.
Good morning, David. Let me add my thanks to our fellow stockholders for joining us today. I want to remind stockholders that we reported our first quarter 2025 earnings this week. I encourage you to visit our investor relations website to listen to a replay of the earnings conference call for an update on our recent results and current business trends and outlook, and to find other information about the company and our business. I continue to be so proud of the work our associates are doing all over the world to welcome guests and take care of each other every day. Let's take some questions.
The first question that was submitted is as follows: What are the board's plans for profits downstream of AI?
Thank you for the question. I think I'll start with how we're thinking about AI from a board perspective and then hand it over to Tony to discuss how we're thinking about AI from a business perspective. Our Technology and Information Security Oversight Committee, which the board formed in 2021, has primary responsibility for overseeing trends in technology that may affect the company's strategic plans, including opportunities and risks related to new and emerging technologies such as AI. The board also exercises oversight over these areas through meetings with the company's management and education sessions hosted by internal and external experts. While we continue to challenge ourselves and the management team to utilize new technologies to enhance and drive our business, we are also focused on adopting appropriate governance structures to monitor the unique challenges and opportunities that evolving technologies can present.
With both aspects in mind, we see many possibilities ahead for the use of AI in our industry and in our business, which I'll let Thony discuss in more detail.
Thank you, David. Marriott has been using AI in its business operations for many years. We're enthusiastic about the many potential evolving opportunities AI presents for Marriott's operations, not only as a tool to help reduce manual tasks for associates, enabling them to better serve guests, but also to create more personalized connections with guests, enhancing their experiences when booking destinations and planning trips. Marriott brands within the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio have also enabled AI to help drive top-line revenue, and we continue to find new ways to embed AI into our guest and associate experience. While we believe AI and other technologies will certainly enhance the way we do business, they will never replace the personal touch or human engagement that is the core of who we are as the world's leading hospitality company. That is why we're committed to being high-tech while remaining high-touch.
The next question is as follows: Is democracy good for business?
Thank you for this question. Geopolitical and economic stability is good for economies, consumers, and Marriott's business. As a U.S.-based company with global operations in 144 countries and territories, we are focused on providing access to opportunity for our workforce and welcoming guests around the world, something Marriott International has done for nearly 100 years. We remain committed to working with government leaders to help achieve positive outcomes for our business and will continue to do so as we look to the future.
The next question is: What practical steps is Marriott taking to combat human trafficking in its supply chain and/or at its individual hotel locations?
Thank you again for this question. Marriott has taken the lead in fighting against some of the hospitality industry's highest risk and most pressing human rights issues, including human trafficking and forced labor throughout our supply chain. Through nonprofit partnerships, creating and implementing training, advocacy, and supplier accountability, we work to uphold human rights. Marriott has successfully trained over 1.5 million associates to recognize the signs of and respond to human trafficking. We first introduced human trafficking awareness training in 2016 and rolled out enhanced training in 2021. The training extends beyond Marriott International's portfolio of hotels. The company continues to make the training available to the hospitality industry through industry groups, with over 2.5 million additional training sessions having been taken through partner organizations. Our policies set requirements related to the responsible sourcing of products, materials, and labor.
Active, centrally managed procurement contracts require suppliers to comply with Marriott's supplier conduct guidelines.
The next question that was submitted is: Why did Marriott go cashless? With this happening, more machines are needed to change your cash to credit card.
Thank you for this question. Around the world, we continue to accept a variety of payment methods. We have, in fact, not gone cashless across our portfolio.
There are no further questions.
Thank you for your questions this morning. We appreciate your support, investment in the company, your membership in Marriott Bonvoy. Of course, we thank you for staying with us. We consider all of you to be part of the extended Marriott family. We thank you very much and wish you a very happy 2025.
This now concludes the meeting. Thank you for joining and have a pleasant day.
The host has ended this call. Good.