Sodexho Executive Emeka Okeani Honored with Eagle Award

GAITHERSBURG, Md., November 20, 2006 -In this era, when corporate leadership demands much more than managing people and making a profit, a Sodexho, Inc. (NYSE: SDX) executive has been honored for demonstrating a rare combination of business growth, community commitment, employee development and longevity. Emeka Okeani, president of Sodexho, Inc's Laundry Services Division, and a 23-year Sodexho employee, was selected among 12 African-American and Hispanic/Latino business leaders to receive the award-winning CareerFOCUS Eagle Award™ on Friday, November 17, 2006, in Kansas City.

The National Eagle Leadership Institute® and CareerFOCUS Magazine™, “The Magazine for Today's Professionals Lifestyles,” present the annual award to trusted and admired individuals who practice principled leadership and whose records of performance uphold the highest standards of dignity, integrity, and honor.

Okeani, who currently oversees $150 million in managed volume, was recognized for his principled leadership practices and his expertise in positively impacting Sodexho's growth strategy. Okeani serves as the executive co-sponsor for Sodexho's formal employee mentoring initiative and as the leader of the mentoring initiative within Sodexho's African American Leadership Forum (AALF) Network Group. He is also actively involved in the “STOP Hunger” initiatives of the Sodexho Foundation.

“The Eagle Award enables corporate leaders to extend talent recognition beyond the walls of their businesses and into the national forefront,” says Georgia L. Clark, founder and president of the National Eagle Leadership Institute. “It's an opportunity to acknowledge and retain quality leadership while recognizing the business imperative of diversity,” Clark explains.

During his career with Sodexho, Okeani has held various positions including unit operations manager, general manager, district manager, and regional vice president. Okeani and his wife reside in Marietta, GA with their three children.

Okeani is the second Sodexho executive to receive the prestigious NELI honor. Last year, James Taylor, corporate vice president - Office of the President at Sodexho, received this distinguished award. This year's Eagle Award winners enjoyed the distinguished honor of accepting their awards alongside Illinois U.S. Senator Barack Obama, upon whom NELI has selected to bestow its celebrated Soaring Spirit Award.

About NELI
The National Eagle Leadership Institute® (NELI) is a premier leadership development resource for African-American and Latino professionals and college students. Our mission is the help you lead. NELI was launched in 1995 in response to corporate America's increasing focus on leadership and diversity in the workplace. The Institute provides strategies to recognize, recruit, and retain trusted, empowered, and admired leaders.

The first Eagle Awards were presented by CareerFOCUS Magazine in 1993 at the Mansion on O Street in Washington, DC. It was an intimate luncheon of only 35 guests. Today, the CareerFOCUS Eagle Awards Gala is one of the leading recognition platforms in corporate America, hosting more than 600 guests each year.

About Sodexho in North America
Sodexho, Inc. (www.SodexhoUSA.com) is the leading provider of integrated food and facilities management in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with $6.7 billion in annual revenue and 125,000+ employees. Sodexho offers innovative outsourcing solutions in food service, housekeeping, groundskeeping, plant operations and maintenance, asset management, and laundry services to more than 6,000 corporations, health care, long term care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, government and remote sites throughout North America. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., Sodexho proudly serves as the official food service provider for the U.S. Marine Corps.