Spotlight Interview – Joanna Harris | Sodexo
Joanna Harris is a Senior Programme Manager and Hard FM Ambassador at Sodexo and is well known for her voluntary work and advocacy for business-focused maintenance....
Read Full ArticleSodexo, in partnership with L Marks, has selected five start-up businesses to help them develop new solutions in the areas of smart buildings, employee experience and sustainability.
The start-ups will take part in a 10-week Accelerators Innovation Programme to road-test their propositions with Sodexo.
Over 400 start-ups applied to the programme which launched in January this year, with 21 selected to pitch their business propositions to Sodexo at live events in London and Dublin.
The 21 start-ups pitched their innovations (virtually and in-person) to an audience of Sodexo senior leaders, operational teams as well as the organisation’s experts in areas such as sustainability, employee engagement, marketing, supply chain as well as market consultants.
Sodexo opened up the pitches to its colleagues around the business by live-streaming the events and enabling colleagues to have a say through an app-based voting platform.
Picture: a photograph of two of the Accelerators finalists, from Wayleadr. Image Credit: Sodexo
Sodexo’s Accelerators innovation programme has already been launched in China, Brazil, India, France and Sweden. For the UK and Ireland programme, Sodexo has partnered with L Marks - an innovation specialist with experience in running over 70 programmes with some of the world's leading companies.
The chosen five finalists for UK and Ireland are:
The five finalists will now work with Sodexo to test, refine and adapt their business propositions in a live operational environment, mentored by Sodexo’s subject matter experts.
Julie Ennis, CEO Sodexo Corporate Services, UK & Ireland said: “We were delighted with the quality and volume of applications we received for the programme. The pitch days were very exciting and action-packed.
“Technology enabled a number of the start-ups to pitch remotely and by live-streaming the event we were able to invite colleagues from across our business, not just in the UK and Ireland but from around the world to watch the pitches and be involved in the selection process via the voting platform.
“The feedback and votes from both days helped us decided on the final five and we look forward to the finding out how the five get on during the next stage of the programme, which will test their solutions in our live operations.”
Picture: a photograph from the Sodexo Accelerators London pitch day, showing people sitting on chairs looking at a projector screen. Image Credit: Sodexo
Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 11 May 2022
Joanna Harris is a Senior Programme Manager and Hard FM Ambassador at Sodexo and is well known for her voluntary work and advocacy for business-focused maintenance....
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