Sodexo Announces Change to North America Leadership

BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 18, 2025--

To accelerate its growth in its largest market, Sodexo is evolving its leadership structure. Thierry Delaporte, Group CEO, will expand his responsibilities to lead the North America business for a period of time.

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Sarosh Mistry, currently President, Sodexo North America, will retire from the company, effective December 31, 2025, and serve as a strategic advisor during the transition.

With more than 30 years of international experience, Delaporte has a proven track record of leading global organizations through transformation and driving sustained growth, notably in the U.S. Drawing on his deep understanding of U.S. business practices and management culture, he will concentrate on turning around Sodexo in North America, to initiate a new phase of growth and accelerate value creation for the benefit of all stakeholders.

“I want to thank Sarosh for his leadership and nearly 15 years of dedicated service and contribution to Sodexo. Given the importance of the U.S. market for Sodexo, I have decided to assume direct leadership of Sodexo operations for the zone for a period of time,” Delaporte, Sodexo Group Chief Executive Officer, said. “We have great strengths - our people, our clients, and our deep roots in this market - however we must move with greater focus and at a faster pace to capture our fair share of the market. My initial deep dives with the management team have strengthened my conviction that we can unlock our full potential. I will dedicate my first months to assessing the organization, identifying opportunities for acceleration, and recentering the business around client needs to deliver outsized value. This will require innovation, increased operational efficiency and disciplined execution.”

With a career marked by international leadership positions across Europe, the U.S. South America, and Asia-Pacific, Delaporte is a seasoned global executive with extensive experience in finance leadership, operational transformation, business development, and strategic sales — particularly in B2B service environments.

Delaporte began his career at Arthur Andersen before joining Capgemini in 1995, where he held CFO roles across Europe, Asia, Australia- New Zealand and the U.S., building strong capabilities in financial management.

As of 2009, he successively held several operational roles at Capgemini in the U.S. — including CEO of the Global Outsourcing division and CEO of the Financial Services Global Business Unit, where he oversaw the integration of iGate, reinforcing his expertise in M&A and post merger integration.

As of 2016, Delaporte became part of Capgemini Leadership Team and served as Global COO and Deputy CEO from 2018 to 2020.

In 2020, Delaporte was appointed CEO of Wipro Ltd., a global IT services leader. Over four years, he led a strategic repositioning of the company, transforming its operating model, organizational structure, and market approach, driving accelerated growth and profitability improvement.

Delaporte is also committed to social impact. He co-founded Life Project 4 Youth (LP4Y), an organization focused on youth inclusion. He serves on the Board of Saint-Gobain. He holds degrees from Sciences Po Paris and in Law. Delaporte is French and speaks English and Spanish.

About Sodexo

Founded in Marseille in 1966 by Pierre Bellon, Sodexo is the leader in Food and Services, shaping better everyday experiences at every moment in life: work, heal, learn and play. The Group stands out for its independence, its founding family shareholding and its responsible business model. With its services, Sodexo meets all the challenges of everyday life with a dual goal: to improve the quality of life of our employees and those we serve, and contribute to the economic, social and environmental progress in the communities where we operate. Our purpose is to create a better everyday for everyone to build a better life for all. Sodexo is included in the CAC Next 20, CAC SBT 1.5, FTSE 4 Good and DJSI indices.

About Sodexo North America

Sodexo North America is a division of Sodexo Group, a global Fortune 500 company operating in 45 countries and a leading provider of sustainable food and integrated facilities management in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam. Across the U.S., the company employs over 100,000 people and indirectly supports tens of thousands of additional jobs by annually purchasing goods and services from a wide range of small to large businesses.

Recently appointed Sodexo Group Chief Executive Officer Thierry Delaporte will expand his responsibilities to include direct leadership of North America, starting January 1, 2026

MADRID (AP) — Spain star Lamine Yamal on Wednesday condemned the anti-Muslim chants made by Spanish fans during a friendly soccer game in the latest incident to dent the nation’s sporting image.

The Spanish government and the soccer federation also condemned the chants, and police said they were investigating the behavior by fans during Tuesday's game between Spain and Egypt in the city of Barcelona.

Yamal, who is Muslim, said the chants made by part of the fans at RCDE Stadium were disrespectful and intolerable. He said it didn't matter that the chants were not directed at him personally.

“I understand that not all fans are like that, but to those who chant these things: Using a religion as a taunt on the field makes you look ignorant and racist,” he wrote on Instagram. “Football is for enjoying and cheering, not for disrespecting people for who they are or what they believe."

Racist abuse against players are not uncommon in Spain. Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior has often been subjected to racist taunts during soccer matches. Sexism has also been an issue, as Spanish soccer endured one of its most embarrassing incidents when then-federation boss Luis Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips after the 2023 Women’s World Cup final. He was eventually found guilty of sexual assault.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente also condemned the anti-Muslim chants after the game, which was part of the team's preparations for the World Cup.

“I feel total and absolute repulsion towards any xenophobic or racist attitudes," he said. "They are intolerable.”

The game ended in a 0-0 draw. Egypt is a majority-Muslim country.

“Hate, racism, and xenophobia have no place in stadiums or in our society,” Milagros Tolón, the Spanish minister in charge of sports, said Wednesday.

Catalonia’s regional police said "we will investigate yesterday’s Islamophobic and xenophobic chants at the RCDE Stadium during the friendly match Spain-Egypt.”

Barcelona-based club Espanyol condemned what it called “racist behavior" at its stadium.

“Such actions are reprehensible and unacceptable, do not represent the values ​​of sport, and must be firmly condemned and eradicated from all sporting venues,” Espanyol said.

The club claimed that its supporters were being unfairly blamed for the incident in a “smear campaign” and that the national team fans came from “very diverse geographical and footballing backgrounds.”

Last year, an Espanyol fan accused of racially insulting Athletic Bilbao forward Iñaki Williams during a Spanish league game in 2020 accepted a deal to avoid prison time.

Spain is due to play Saudi Arabia at the World Cup, and also faces Cape Verde and Uruguay in Group H of the 48-team tournament. Egypt has games against Belgium, New Zealand and Iran in Group G.

Spain was hosting Egypt for the game, which had originally been expected to be played in Qatar before the region was affected by the Iran war. A “Finalissima” game there between South American champion Argentina and European champion Spain was canceled after they couldn't agree to reschedule.

FIFA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Tuesday's chants.

AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth contributed to this report.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Spain's Lamine Yamal controls the ball during the international friendly soccer match between Spain and Egypt in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Spain's Lamine Yamal reacts during the international friendly soccer match between Spain and Egypt in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Egypt's goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir saves during the international friendly soccer match between Spain and Egypt in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Spain's coach Luis de la Fuente reacts during the international friendly soccer match between Spain and Egypt in Barcelona , Spain, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)