Susan Thronson is an experienced independent director with global digital, e-commerce, and marketing expertise. While chief marketing officer for Marriott International, she had responsibility for integrated business strategies to acquire customers and generate revenue for a diversified portfolio of brands and engagement platforms, including its perennial best-in-industry loyalty program. Susan has served on the boards of Angie’s List and Sonic Drive-Ins. In 2020, she was elected to the Trulieve board (CSE: TRUL/OTCQX: TCNNF).

Trulieve is a leading vertically integrated cannabis company with operations in its home state of Florida and 11 other states. Last October, it completed the acquisition of an Arizona-based multistate operator, the industry’s largest consolidation. Trulieve has the deepest retail and cultivation footprint, estimated 2021 revenue of over $900 million, and industry-leading profitability. She serves as compensation and human resources committee chair and an audit committee member.

Susan joined the board of Angie’s List (now Angi), the pioneering online marketplace for home services, shortly after its initial public offering in 2012. In a highly fragmented and intensely competitive marketplace, during her tenure, the company shifted from a subscription-based to freemium model and diversified its customer acquisition strategy. In 2017, the board conducted a strategic review that concluded with a cash-and-stock offer from IAC and its HomeAdvisor subsidiary at a 44 percent premium over its closing share price.

In 2015, she was appointed to the board of Sonic Drive-Ins, the nation’s largest drive-in restaurant operator with $4.5 billion in system sales (2017). She championed a business transformation built on an integrated customer engagement strategy that industry analysts described as game-changing. Susan was a catalyst for proactive cybersecurity risk oversight and executed an evolution of the executive compensation plan to improve its shareholder alignment. In 2018, the board accepted Inspire Brands’ offer at a 19 percent premium over its closing share price, an all-time high.

In her board service, Susan draws upon her 24 years of experience in a Fortune 200 global organization. She directed the evolution of Marriott Rewards into a powerful direct-to-consumer engine that produced half of all rooms sold and over $12 billion in e-commerce bookings for 4,000 hotels in 70 countries. A digital trailblazer, she developed compelling customer experiences at every stage of the guests’ journey and created connections with consumers and influenced their behavior through paid, owned, earned, and managed media channels. During her Marriott career, she rose through regional operations and as a pioneering executive team member of its $5-billion international division.

Demonstrating a commitment to board governance, she is an NACD Governance Fellow and completed the Carnegie Mellon cybersecurity risk oversight certification and NACD’s inaugural digital transformation learning cohort. Susan volunteers at PFLAG National, the largest families and allies organization seeking equality for LGBTQ+ people, and serves as vice president of its board of directors.

She holds a BA in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno, and has been recognized as a distinguished alumna. She attended executive training at Harvard University, Northwestern University, and Costa Rica’s INCAE. A Southern California resident, Susan lectures on global business leadership at the University of California, Irvine.