Marriott International, Inc. said it appointed W. Mitt Romney to its board. He and many other directors at the Bethesda, Md.-based hotel company have already served for many years.

　　Marriott International, Inc. said it appointed W. Mitt Romney to its board. He and many other directors at the Bethesda, Md.-based hotel company have already served for many years.

　　The formerpresidential candidate and Massachusetts governor sat on Marriott’s board from 1993 to 2002 and from January 2009 to January 2011, the company said in a press release December 3. “Gov. Romney has proven to be an astute, independent director who is fluent in the demands and opportunities of our highly competitive industry,” Marriott’s president and CEO Arne Sorenson said.

　　When it comes to Marriott, Mr. Romney has significant fluency. John Willard Marriott, who founded the company in 1927, was close friends with Mr. Romney’s father, according to the Associated Press. The politician Willard Mitt Romney was named after the hotel businessman, the AP said.

　　Mr. Romney isn’t the only one who likely knows Marriott’s upper management very well by this time. The board, increased to 11 members with Mr. Romney’s addition, includes seven who have served for at least a decade, according to the company’s most recent proxy filing. For example, the audit committee chair George Muñoz has been a director since 2002, nominating and corporate governance committee chair Lawrence W. Kellner since 2002, and finance committee chair Lawrence M. Small since 1995.

　　In part due to such factors, Marriott is rated “C” on its governance.