Mark Weinstein has spent 15 years at Hilton leading through growth and disruption. His defining leadership lesson came during the pandemic when Hilton went from record highs to losing nearly all customer demand in just one week.
“By the time you need a relationship, it’s too late to build one. At that point it’s transactional. What carried us through was 10 years of building trust, of having each other’s back, of staying focused on values.”
When crisis hit, the strength of long-standing relationships made collaboration possible. Hierarchy fell away, and leaders relied on trust built well before the urgency of the moment.
Mark’s approach to building bridges is intentional and consistent:
That consistency paid off when Hilton and American Express partnered to donate one million hotel rooms to frontline medical workers. The decision required rallying operational teams and securing tens of millions in funding — and it happened in days, not months, because the companies had built a decade of trust and shared values. What looked like a simple text message with the idea was in reality the product of years of partnership.
Leaders can’t build bridges in the middle of a storm. Trust, influence, and collaboration are the result of steady investment over years, not quick fixes under pressure.
As Mark puts it, “The measure of real influence and real impact is the number of rooms you’re invited to that you have no reason to be in. How often do people want you in the room because when you’re there, the conversation is just better. The results are just stronger.” That kind of invitation is the product of years of building credibility and trust across the table.
Or as he sums it up: “The power of a network isn’t built on convenience. It’s built on confidence and trust, long before you need it.”
Mark Weinstein is Chief Marketing Officer of Hilton. With decades of experience in hospitality, he has led marketing through times of rapid expansion and transformation. He is recognized for his ability to build bridges across functions, cultures, and markets by listening deeply, co-creating solutions, and celebrating shared wins.