By Katherine LaGrave with AFAR Travel Guides
Apoorva Gandhi leads the external DEI strategy at the world’s largest hotel company, Marriott International, where he serves as the VP of Multicultural Affairs and Business.
To help improve inclusion practices at Marriott, Apoorva is also the lead liaison with diversity advocacy partners including Out & Equal, Disability:IN, the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, and the National Urban League.
Growing up in the Washington, D.C. area as the son of immigrant parents, Apoorva learned quickly that he didn’t have the “right” name or the “right” lunch food. In some cases, it was a social snub; other times, kids threw rocks at him on the playground.