The executive chair of the Hyatt hotel chain announced Monday that he will step down, after emails surfaced disclosing his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. businessperson Thomas Pritzker maintained contact with Epstein well after the latter was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.
Epstein died in prison in 2019, awaiting charges of sex trafficking girls, in what was ruled a suicide.
"Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell which I deeply regret," Pritzker said in a letter to the company's board.
"I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner," Pritzker said in a statement."
Maxwell, Epstein's associate, is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in a conspiracy to traffic girls with the disgraced financier.
Hyatt, in a statement, said – without mentioning Epstein – that Pritzker would retire from his role as executive chairperson of the board of directors and that he would not seek reelection to the board at the company's shareholders meeting in May.
Pritzker has served as executive chair since 2004 and highlighted the company's growth and resilience during his tenure, including taking Hyatt public, adopting an "asset-light" strategy and navigating the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. media reported on an email exchange from 2018 where Epstein asked Pritzker to help secure reservations for a woman traveling in Asia.
The woman told Pritzker she was "going to try to find a new girlfriend for Jeffrey," to which Pritzker replied: "May the Force be with you."
Files on Epstein released by the U.S. government, including troves of his email correspondence, have exposed his ties to the rich and powerful around the world.
Many have resigned from their positions in scandal and tainted by association with Epstein, even if the files do not prove they committed a crime.
Pritzker is the cousin of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
