by Ruth Goodman,
contributing writer

Ed Fuller (Boston ’68) is proud to say that he and actor George Clooney have a connection of sorts. In the 2009 film Up in the Air, Clooney’s character, Ryan Bingham, was on a mission to accumulate 10 million frequent-flyer miles. Accomplishing that feat offered numerous perks—one of which was having his name painted on a plane’s fuselage.

In the 1990s, Fuller reached the 10-million-mile mark while crossing the globe as president and managing director of international lodging for Marriott International, Inc. And yes, “Ed Fuller, Customer” was actually painted beneath the pilot’s window on a United 747.

For Fuller, the miles and moniker were nice, but they weren’t the goal. Logging miles was simply part of how business should be handled: in person and onsite.

“If you run an operation that’s not in the same town as your office, it’s essential that you get on a plane or get in the car and go see those operations,” said Fuller, who still racks up nearly 400,000 frequent-flyer miles per year. “All too often, the ivory tower syndrome limits the views of someone who is capable of managing but doesn’t have a clear understanding of what’s going on in his or her world.”

With that face-to-face mentality, it comes as no surprise that Fuller chose You Can’t Lead with Your Feet on the Desk: Building Relationships, Breaking Down Barriers, and Delivering Profits as the title of his book, which was released in March 2011.

Fuller wrote the book, he said, to share the lessons he’s learned about developing and tending relationships in dozens of countries over 20 years. “My long experience working outside the United States has convinced me that the best way to gain a better, more complete understanding of people, cultures, beliefs and historical events is to leave my desk behind,” he wrote.

Fuller is no stranger to leaving things behind. As a boy, he dreamed of becoming a pilot, but his poor eyesight kept him out of the cockpit. Undeterred, he set his sights on getting into the aviation industry in some capacity.

After graduating from Boston University in 1968, Fuller entered active duty as a second lieutenant in the Army. When he left the military in 1972, his goal remained the same: to work in the airline industry. At that time, however, the United States was entering a recession, and the industry wasn’t hiring. As a result, Fuller went to work for Marriott’s in-flight food division to maintain his connection with his chosen field. In essence, he was in a holding pattern until he found a more desirable place to land. On his first day, Fuller arrived at work eager and ready to learn. Almost immediately, he knew he had to abort his assignment.

“I was told I would be in the kitchen for the first ten years, which seemed like a lifetime,” he said. “I became somewhat disinterested at that point.”

Fuller then learned about an opening in Marriott’s hotel group that seemed like a perfect fit since it required someone who could “speak military.” Fuller had served as a captain in Germany and Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal, all of which, he said, gave him an edge in his new position of selling group lodging to military bases in the Washington, D.C., area.

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