Colombia. The new CEO of Sodexo, Denis Machuel, who has stood out for his excellent management in Social Responsibility, Diversity, Inclusion, and Quality of Life policies, and who was passing through Colombia to talk about the changes that are coming around the new direction. Together with outgoing CEO Michel Landel, they presented a balance sheet of the company's management.
The management balance that concerns Colombia shows how the country has managed to consolidate itself as the first in Latin America to achieve constant growth figures. After 24 years of operation, "Colombia has shown very good results that reach double digits and that are also due to the recovery of economic sectors such as oil and mining worldwide," said Machuel.
The new CEO said that "the focus for 2018 in economic matters will be to continue with organic growth in the region and accelerate the process of digitizing our services, without becoming a digital company and of course preserving the human factor that characterizes us."
Sodexo has 11,000 employees within Colombia and this is what has made the company strong in terms of social impact, which is finally the objective of producing profits in a society that is going through a process of change, being an example for the region in the fulfillment of the mission and vision that consists of improving the Quality of Life and integrating the entire line of business, establishing its presence in the national corporate world, having an important presence in sectors such as health and education.
On the other hand, Denis Machuel was very positive about what is coming for the company in the country in terms of post-conflict and the excellent results shown by the outgoing CEO, Michel Landel, who achieved an important management in terms of balance and gender equity, inclusion and diversity within the company, guidelines that are exemplified by the Board of Directors of the Multinational in a percentage of conformation of 50/50.
Both CEOs stressed the importance of contributing to the development of the communities where they work, through the generation of jobs and the well-being of those who have to do with the services of the organization. For this reason, they highlighted the success of the Solutions Program, which has been reincorporating demobilized members of armed groups, their families and victims of violence in Colombia into working life for 12 years.
The new CEO, Denis Machuel, reiterated that "social responsibility is a pillar of the multinational to contribute to the economic development of countries; and in Colombia it is done from the contribution to more supportive environments, in peace and with a view to reincorporating vulnerable populations such as victims of situations of violence into working life".
However, for Machuel it is very important not to leave behind Sustainable Development and the alliances that Sodexo has agreed to comply with the country with something more than its Social Responsibility policy, from the fronts that have managed to position the Multinational as the leader in Quality of Life, earning various recognitions such as Portfolio, Fenalco and AEQuales, among others, which makes it a model of Wellness practices for other countries where Sodexo operates.
Sodexo's new CEO, Frenchman Denis Machuel, graduated from Grenoble Engineering University (ENSIMAG) and holds a Master of Science degree from Texas A&M University. Throughout her international career she has promoted gender diversity initiatives, particularly around work-life balance, personal development and the exchange of best practices between companies.
In 2007, Denis joined Sodexo as CEO of Benefits & Rewards Services for Central and Eastern Europe, where he reaffirmed the company's position as a regional leader in its sector. In 2010, he went on to lead this process in Europe and Asia, and in 2012 he went on to lead it globally, increasing volume management by 9% per year and operating profit by 12%. In this same period, activities were opened in 6 new countries and 15 acquisitions were made in Europe, the United States and Latin America.
Denis joined the Sodexo Group Executive Committee in January 2014, and from there contributed to Sodexo's On-Site Services business. When he was appointed Group Chief Digital Officer in 2015, he collaborated with Sodexo's digital transformation. During 2016 he was also appointed CEO of Personal and Home Services where he led sodexo's complementation of global services in child care, home care for seniors and dependents and concierge services.
The new head of the company's management is a person committed to strengthening inclusion policies within the Organization, and this is how he managed in 2016 to sign on behalf of Sodexo with the Global Business Disability Network of the International Labor Organization to execute the leading initiative that offers Mindfulness and meditation practices for benefits & Rewards teams, contributing to the achievement of Quality of Life.
