CHICAGO, Illinois: Executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Thomas Pritzker announced on February 16 that he was stepping down for maintaining contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Acknowledging his "terrible judgment", Pritzker, 75, said in a letter to the company's board that he would not seek re-election to the board in 2026.

"Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, which I deeply regret. 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.

Pritzker has been the company's executive chairman since 2004. During that time, he highlighted the company's strong growth and its ability to withstand challenges. He helped take Hyatt public, shifted the business to an "asset-light" model, and guided the company through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Justice Department later released millions of internal documents about Jeffrey Epstein. These papers showed that the late financier and convicted sex offender had connections with many well-known people in politics, finance, universities, and business, both before and after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges that included seeking sex from an underage girl.

Information from several court and criminal cases also revealed more about these links. Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges of trafficking minors for sex. Later that year, he died in a jail cell in Manhattan, and officials ruled his death a suicide.