euronext sw industry conglomerate founded 1966 ; 50 years ago 1966 founder pierre bellon headquarters issy les moulineaux france area served worldwide key people pierre bellon chairman michel landel ceo services foodservice facility management service vouchers revenue 16.04 billion 2011 1 operating income 853 million 2011 1 profit 945 million 2011 1 total assets 111.40 billion 2011 1 total equity 2.535 billion 2011 1 number of employees 413 000 2011 1 website www.sodexo.com sodexo formerly sodexho alliance is a french food services and facilities management company headquartered in the paris suburb of issy les moulineaux . 2 sodexo is one of the world s largest multinational corporations with 420 000 employees that represent 130 nationalities and are present on 34 000 sites in 80 countries . for fiscal year 2010 ending august 2009 revenues reached 15.3 billion euros with a market capitalization of 6.5 billion euros . revenues by region represent 38 % in north america 37 % in continental europe 8 % in the uk and ireland and 17 % elsewhere . sodexo serves many sectors including private corporations government agencies schools from elementary through university hospitals and clinics assisted living facilities military bases and correctional facilities . contents 1 history 2 financial figures 2009 2010 3 food services and facilities management 4 service vouchers and cards svc 5 name change 6 acquisitions 6.1 comfort keepers 7 controversy 8 management study 9 see also 10 references 11 external links history edit the company was launched in 1966 by pierre bellon chairman in marseille france initially serving company restaurants schools and hospitals under the name soci t d exploitation hoteli re english hotel services corporation . today sodexo is on the fortune global 500 list 3 and the second largest employer among all french multi national corporations . 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 soci t d exploitation hoteli re 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 . 4 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 the company become one of the largest food services providers in america . 4 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 retired nba hall of famer and 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 . 5 since september 2007 its united states operations have been headed by president and ceo george chavel who replaced richard macedonia . in 2007 sodexho launched its catering arm in united kingdom schools using the brand name for you ... . the diversityinc top 50 companies for diversity is the leading assessment of diversity management in corporate america and globally . in 2010 sodexo ranked number 1 . according to the report 6 sodexo has led every other company in its ability to implement measure and assess strong internal diversity initiatives in 2010 sodexo entered into two new partnerships the first one with united coffee who will supply sodexo with machines as well as fair trade certified coffees ; the other one with numi from which sodexo has selected 100 % organic teas . citation needed in 2011 sodexo entered an 8 year contract with the american government by which the company commits itself to provide food services to 51 united states marine corps mess halls . 7 financial figures 2009 2010 edit sodexo reported revenues of 15.3 billion in the 12 months ended february 2010 and an organic growth of 0.4 % . citation needed it benefits from a corporate credit rating of bbb standard & poor . citation needed food services and facilities management edit 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 systems including substations up to 220kv energy efficiency & sustainability services plumbing water treatment plant sewage treatment plant operation annual equipment operation & maintenance contracts project management etc. . abm is sodexo s primary integrated facility management services competitor in the united states . service vouchers and cards svc edit 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 and the us it operates a stored value card system in cooperation with multiple restaurants . freedompay is used to power some of these deployments 8 name change edit 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 . 9 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 . the sod part of the name remains unchanged . 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 claimed desire to constantly seek and increase the satisfaction of their clients . 9 acquisitions edit comfort keepers edit comfort keepers type international franchise industry home care elderly care founded 1998 u.s. headquarters dayton ohio website comfortkeepers.com in august 2009 sodexo acquired the in home care services company comfort keepers . 10 11 comfort keepers provides non medical in home care for adults and seniors . it is an international franchise system with locally owned and operated franchise offices and is headquartered in dayton ohio . the company was launched in 1998 . 12 comfort keepers franchises are located throughout the united states canada australia france ireland portugal singapore and the united kingdom . as of june 2016 comfort keepers has 500 franchisees running 750 offices in the united states and internationally . 13 in 2007 comfort keepers was named by inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing franchise systems in the united states . 14 in 2016 comfort keepers was ranked 7 by forbes as a top franchise to buy in the lowest investment category . 15 controversy edit there have been at least nine boycotts of sodexo for varying reasons at brandeis university in waltham massachusetts 16 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 universit laval in quebec city at binghamton university in new york and allegheny college in meadville pennsylvania at depauw university in indiana hollins university in roanoke virginia emory university in atlanta georgia 17 18 19 at nordea banks in finland at the university of tampere finland and at loyola marymount university in los angeles . 20 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 . 21 at nordea banks the issue was a cut in wages after sodexo took over the bank s workplace food services . 22 23 after a successful boycott the wages were raised . 24 in 2009 the service employees international union seiu launched a united states nationwide campaign 25 against sodexo with their stated objective of improving wage and job standards . in 2010 the seiu recruited students at many u.s. colleges to support strikes and demonstrations in protest of sodexo s alleged unfair labor practices including anti union behavior and paying low wages . 26 27 although one series of strikes at the university of pittsburgh led to the negotiation of higher wages and lower cost health insurance plans for the cafeteria workers 28 29 30 none of the sodexo accounts targeted by the seiu have unionized or even requested an election vote . according to a statement from sodexo the seiu engaged in a smear campaign in an effort to drive out rival labor unions that have traditionally operated in the foodservice industry as well as for general publicity . 31 sodexo filed a lawsuit in march 2011 under the racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations act accusing the seiu of engaging in illegal tactics in its effort to unionize workers . 32 during the trial it was revealed that the seiu had written and distributed a manual to its staff detailing how outside pressure can involve jeopardizing relationships between the employer and lenders investors stockholders customers clients patients tenants politicians or others on whom the employer depends for funds . tactics recommended include references to blackmail extortion accusations of racism and sexism and targeting the homes and neighborhoods of business leaders for demonstrations . 33 following the court discovery of this document seiu agreed to terminate their public campaign focused on sodexo and the charges against seiu were dropped . 34 in may 2011 27 university of washington students were arrested during a sit in at the university s administrative offices for protesting the university s concessions contract with sodexo . 35 shortly after on may 19 another 13 students were arrested under similar circumstances . 36 police report of the april 2012 incident at suny new paltz . in april 2012 a sodexo regional manager disrupted a student protest at the state university of new york at new paltz by tearing up protesters signs . 37 students there had organized a protest to highlight what they saw as the company s unethical treatment of workers and its lack of response to issues of sustainability . 38 on 22 february 2013 all of the frozen beef products used by sodexo in the uk were withdrawn following the discovery of horse dna in a sample . 39 the company supplies 2 300 institutions including schools senior citizen homes prisons and branches of the armed forces within the uk . 39 in august 2013 sodexo justice services was criticised in an official report for subjecting a female prisoner to cruel inhumane and degrading treatment which appears to amount to torture at hmp bronzefield in ashford surrey uk . the woman was kept segregated from other prisoners in an unkempt and squalid prison cell for more than five years . 40 in march 2016 complaints by british military personnel about the poor quality of the food served on military bases under the pay as you dine payd contract were reported in the national media following a social media campaign and parliamentary petition by serving and retired service personnel . 41 although this was denied by the company citing a lack of verifiable evidence multiple reports emerged on social media of complaints submitted by service personnel being destroyed or removed in military dining facilities and sodexo staff refusing