Mickaël’s story: bringing entrepreneurial spirit to a thriving Sodexo career
Minna's story: Amazing things happen when you let them
My interest in food and hospitality began in childhood. Growing up in a small rural village, food was incredibly important to us. I would often help on my relative’s farm, and we would gather around buffet tables on public holidays with our friends and family. As an only child I treasured those meals and celebrations and they’ve also profoundly influenced my career path.
From restaurants to management
I started working in the restaurant industry whilst I was still studying for my bachelor’s degree in hospitality management.
After earning my hospitality management degree in 2001, I joined a large catering company. Over 14 years, I advanced through various roles, taking on my first site management position in 2003. This was one of the most challenging roles of my career - as the sole team member, I handled everything from chef duties to budgeting for the 80-person lunch service, nursery catering and hospitality.
Over the years that followed I was responsible for a range of different clients and also completed a master’s degree in hospitality management.
In 2015 I moved to Dubai with my young family for my husband’s work. We returned to Finland in 2019 and that’s when I found Sodexo.
In 2022 I was promoted to site manager for the University of Helsinki, my current role. I lead a team of 20 people, serving around 1,300 consumers across our restaurants at the two university locations as well as providing a large amount of hospitality catering. We are delighted to be one of Finland’s largest providers of conference services!
I’m incredibly proud of that fact that we consistently deliver exceptional food quality and customer satisfaction with an outstanding level of service. I am constantly looking for ways to develop the way we work to meet and exceed the wishes of our customers.
The well-being of my team is incredibly important to me, I feel that Sodexo’s values align perfectly with my own in this respect. I make it a priority to know how each member of my team are feeling, taking time throughout the day to check in with everyone to support them in any way I can. I ensure I spend time each week at the smaller university building in addition to the main building so I get a chance to see every team member in person.
Read Minna's story in finnish
