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William (Bill) J. Otto became president and chief operating officer of Marcus Hotels and Resorts, the full-service lodging division of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS) in April 2001. Mr. Otto joined Marcus Hotels and Resorts in 1993 as Senior Vice President of Operations and was promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 1996.Prior to joining Marcus Hotels and Resorts, Mr. Otto worked for the Stouffer Group of hotels for 15 years in positions including serving as general manager of the Stouffer Nashville hotel. He began his career with Hyatt Hotels in Chicago in 1978.A highly recognized leader in the Wisconsin hospitality industry, Mr. Otto currently serves on the board of Visit Milwaukee, IAHI- Intercontinental Hotel Group Brand Committee, Spirit of Milwaukee, Junior Achievement of Greater Milwaukee, and The Preferred Hotel Group. He is the past Chair of the Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau (now known as Visit Milwaukee), Wisconsin Innkeepers Association and the Governor's Council on Tourism, and was an appointed Wisconsin delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Travel and Tourism.Known for his ability to envision what a hotel can be while embracing its past, Mr. Otto has a proven track record in and passion for historic hotels. The highly successful Pfister Hotel, Hilton Milwaukee City Center, and Hotel Phillips showcase how he helped breathe new life into classic hotels. These grand dames were restored to their former glory and creatively injected with new concepts, leading to new levels of sustainable profitability. And, while not historic in nature, the company's Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, WI is truly a renaissance hotel in which Mr. Otto has played a key role in reinventing.Mr. Otto received a bachelor's degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and has earned the Certified Hotel Administrator designation from the American Hotel and Motel Association. | 