Duke University - The Fuqua School of Business

Wesleyan University

Oversee Marriott’s global digital strategy and execution for one of the world's largest digital travel platforms to elevate digital customer experiences that grow revenue and market share today while transforming and shaping the future of digital to unlock the potential of Marriott’s multi-year extensive technology investments and overall scale.  

Serve as business owner of Marriott’s global digital direct channels, including Marriott.com and the Bonvoy Mobile App.  

Develop on-property digital solutions for guests, translate Marriott’s 30+ brands and global scale into unique, localized experiences, and partner cross-functionally to drive core business goals across loyalty, dining and other disciplines.

Marriott International

Senior Vice President, Global Digital 

Lead efforts across Marketing, Customer Acquisition, and Digital Commerce to build exceptional customer experiences and interactions to create value for Choice and its Franchisees.

Choice Hotels International

Chief Customer Officer

Lead Choice Hotel's Digital Ecommerce business across Web, Mobile and emerging products.

Vice President, Digital Ecommerce

Vice President, Performance Analytics

- Lead a team responsible for spearheading AOL’s web publishing business’ analytical agenda to optimize investment decisions, grow key performance metrics, increase revenues and decrease costs.

 - Work closely with and directly support 3 AOL business unit heads (EVPs) to guide strategic direction and key operating decisions.

 -Team specifically responsible for (a) deep-dive analyses addressing broad strategic issues, (b) defining and providing web metric KPIs, (c) A/B and multivariate testing to enable traffic and ROI optimization, and (d) campaign analysis supporting search, web and email marketing efforts

AOL Time Warner

Vice President, Business Intelligence

- Reorganized and led a 50 person team based in Dulles, VA and Bangalore, India responsible for providing analytical based guidance to AOL’s Access, CFO and CMO organizations – geared to improve company’s acquisition, retention, customer engagement and profit goals.
 - Over tenure lead 6 functional teams responsible for (a) Strategic Planning, (b) Statistical Modeling and Customer Segmentation, (c) Campaign and Test Performance, (d) Business Metrics and Reporting, and (e) Data Management.

 - Managed a $7.5MM operating budget.

VP, Marketing Analysis

- Managed a 3 person team responsible for structuring and negotiating partner marketing and broadband deals on behalf of AOL’s Marketing organization to generate subscribers through strategic partnerships and third party distribution deals.

 - Structured and negotiated multiple cross-company strategic alliances focusing on subscriber acquisition objectives but also including advertising, content development, co-marketing, licensing, procurement and equity investments components.  Partners included Gateway, Dell, HP, Compaq, Sony, Hughes/DirecTV, Verizon, Best Buy and Citibank.

Sarah Searls