Sodexo S.A.

Company type	Société Anonyme ( Euronext:  SW)
ISIN	FR0000121220
Industry	Hospitality
Founded	1966
Founder	Pierre Bellon
Headquarters	Issy-les-Moulineaux , France
Key people	Pierre Bellon (Founder and Chairman), Michel Landel ( CEO)
Services	Foodservice, facility management, service vouchers
Revenue	€14.68 billion (2009) [1]
Operating income	€746 million (2009) [1]
Net income	€393 million (2009) [1]
Number of employees	379,750 (2009) [1]
Website	www.sodexo.com

Sodexo (formerly Sodexho Alliance, Euronext:  SW) is a French multinational corporation headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. ^[2] Sodexo is one of the largest food services and facilities management companies in the world, with 380,000 employees, representing 130 nationalities, present on 30,600 sites in 80 countries. For fiscal year 2009 (ending August 2009) revenues reached 14.7 billion euros, with a market capitalization of 6.5 billion euros. Revenues by region represent: 37% Continental Europe, 37% North America, 11% UK and Ireland, 15% Rest of World.

Sodexo is organized into two entities: Food Services/Facilities Management and Service Vouchers/ Cards. Sodexo services many sectors including private corporations, government agencies, schools from elementary through university, hospitals and clinics, assisted-living facilities, military bases, and correctional facilities.

The company was launched in 1966 by Pierre Bellon (Chairman) in Marseille, France, initially serving company restaurants, schools and hospitals under the name Société d'Exploitation Hotelière (English: Hotel Services Corporation). Today Sodexo is a Global fortune 500 (Ref: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2010/snapshots/10846.html)and second largest employer among all French Multi Nationals.

Throughout the 1970s, the company expanded in France and internationally; first in Belgium, then Africa, and finally the Middle East. After an initial public offering on the Paris Bourse in 1983, the firm continued its expansion into North America, South America, Japan, South Africa, and Russia.

Between 1995 and 2001, Société d'Exploitation Hotelière's holding company changed its name to Sodexho Alliance, and the company forged alliances with Gardner Merchant, Partena, Sogeres, Wood Dining Services and Universal Ogden Services. In 2000 Sodexho Alliance became the leader in remote site management after a merger with Universal Ogden Services. ^[3]

In 1998, Sodexho merged with Marriott Management Services, at the time one of the largest food services companies in North America. Included in the merger was a name change to Sodexho Marriott Services. The merger helped Sodexho become one of the largest food services providers in America. ^[3]

In 2002 Sodexho was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 2005 Michel Landel was appointed Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Pierre Bellon, who continues as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

In the summer of 2006, the company made headlines for concluding a deal with former NBA^{[ clarification needed]} participant and business entrepreneur, Earvin Magic Johnson and Magic Food Provisions, a subsidiary of Magic Johnson Enterprises. The initiative includes a marketing agreement and the formation of SodexhoMagic, LLC, a new joint venture that is 51 percent owned by Johnson.^{[ citation needed]}

Since September 2007, its United States operations have been headed by President and CEO George Chavel, who replaced Richard Macedonia.

In 2007, Sodexo launched its' catering arm in United Kingdom schools, using the brand name "For you...". There lunches taste like cow shit

Sodexo offerings range from self-service food services that include staff restaurants, catering, executive dining, vending, and meal delivery, to integrated facilities management services that include both soft services (reception, concierge, cleaning,pantry, laundry, groundskeeping, waste management, Vendor Management etc.) and hard services (HVAC System, Electrical system including substation up to 220kV, energy efficiency & sustainability services, plumbing/Water Treatment Plant/Sewage Treatment Plant operation, annual equipment operation & maintenance contract, project management etc.).

One of the top two companies worldwide in this sector,^{[ citation needed]} Sodexo provides companies and public authorities with meal passes, restaurant vouchers, mobility passes, leisure passes, book cards, and training vouchers. In China, it operates a stored-value card system in cooperation with multiple restaurants.

The company changed its official name from Sodexho Alliance to simply Sodexo after a shareholder vote at the company's annual general meeting on 22 January 2008. ^[4] The reason for removing the letter 'h' from Sodexho, cited in the group's 2007 annual report, is that "in certain languages an 'x' followed by an 'h' is difficult to pronounce". The company's corporate website also states that it draws emphasis away from the hotel services industry they were once associated with, as they now focus on many other directions. ^[5] The logo of the company was also changed, dropping the five stars to a single star. The bar of the letter 'x' is also now curved, like a smile, supposedly suggestive of the company's desire to constantly seek and increase the satisfaction of their clients. ^[4]

Sodexo's STOP Hunger initiative mobilizes its 380,000 employees around the world to work in their communities and engage with local partners to help the one billion people who suffer from hunger and malnutrition. The initiative was launched in 1996 and today, programs are active in 39 Sodexo host countries on six continents in all of its client segments. STOP Hunger is part of Sodexo's Better Tomorrow Plan, a worldwide sustainability roadmap with priority commitments for nutrition, health, and wellness, local communities, and the environment.

Hunger relief activities are focused on volunteering, sharing Sodexo knowledge (providing healthy eating information and healthy recipes, training hunger relief workers on food safety and providing pro bono services such as legal, accounting, or marketing assistance), and making food and financial donations. Specific programs include Feeding Our Future®, which has served over 2 million free summer lunches to children in need and the Sodexo Servathon, a global event that takes place every April and engages Sodexo employees to join forces and fight hunger in their local communities. In April 2010, 39,000 employees in 28 countries participated in Servathon, collecting and distributing 175,000 kilos of food. In France, Sodexo's "Heart Voucher" campaign with partner Restos du Coeur collects meal vouchers each winter, generating €2.2 million for the charity thus far. The U.S. Sodexo Foundation, which distributes funds for its STOP Hunger program, has dispersed the equivalent of €8.8 million to hunger relief organizations throughout the country. In Peru over the last year, more than 6,200 people in 40 different communities have benefited from STOP Hunger programs focusing on nutrition and food safety.

Sodexo has committed to ending hunger and malnutrition and is working to extend its STOP Hunger initiative to all of its host countries.

In 2008 at Hiram College, in Hiram, Ohio, students marched en masse and held a sit-in at the President's Office to protest the meals offered by Sodexo. The food vendor was changed the next year to AVI Foodsystems Inc.

There have been at least nine boycotts of Sodexo, for varying reasons: at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, at the American University in Washington D.C., and at Université Laval in Quebec City, at Binghamton University in New York, and Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, at DePauw University in Indiana, at Nordea banks in Finland, at the University of Tampere, Finland and at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. ^[6] At DePauw University the students protested against Sodexo's alleged low pay, former investment in private prison businesses, and the lack of local food options. ^[7]

At the Nordea banks the issue was a cut in wages after Sodexo took over the bank's workplace food services. ^{[8] [9]} After a successful boycott, the wages were raised. ^[10]

On April 14, 2010, students and Sodexo workers at Ohio State University blocked traffic, an act of civil disobedience, in protest of Sodexo's alleged unfair labor practices including anti-union behavior and paying low wages. Between 20 and 25 protesters were arrested and cited for obstructing access to public property. ^{[11] [12]}

On April 16, 2010 SEIU workers organized a protest at the company's headquarters in Maryland alleging unfair and illegal treatment of Sodexo workers. ^[13] During the protest, Danny Glover was arrested, was given a citation and later released. The Associated Press reports "Glover and others stepped past yellow police tape and were asked to step back three times at Sodexo headquarters. When they refused, Starks says officers arrested them." ^[14]

On April 26, 2010, at the University of Pittsburgh, 200 Sodexo employees went on strike alleging that the company engaged in unfair and illegal labor practices. ^[15] The strike led to a ratification of a three year contract, which includes higher wages and lower cost health insurance plans for the cafeteria workers. ^{[16] [17]}

In May 2010 at Tulane University, 4 students were charged with code of conduct violations for participating in a strike led by food service workers, alleging unfair and illegal treatment by Sodexo. ^[18]

In July 2010 Sodexo settled charges brought by the state of New York alleging overcharging for food service and facilities management at public schools. According to a case brought by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Sodexo received rebates from suppliers without passing on the savings to its clients. ^[19] Sodexo paid a total of $30 million to the whistleblowers and affected schools, making it the largest ever settlement in New York made possible by the state's false claims act that didn't involve the Medicare program. ^[20] The settlement did not include an admission of liability from the company. ^[21] The case brought in New York has led to similar investigations in locations including New Jersey, ^{[22] [23]} Washington, D.C. ^[24] and Berkeley, California. ^[25]

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