During my decades as president and CEO, the company grew immensely: At the end of 2012 we had 3,800 properties in 73 countries and territories, and our revenue last year was $11.8 billion. While I was leading the company, I often had several experienced nonfamily executives working with me. If something had happened to me suddenly, those deputies would have been qualified to step in. Some of them were probably viewed as potential successors, but I was in no hurry to give up the job. In 1989, when I was 57, I suffered a heart attack, and I began to think a little more seriously about succession. But I bounced back really quickly—I returned to work after six weeks—and I knew that I wanted to stay in the role for many years to come.