Marquis’ story: 26 years of milestones and memories

  • Jul. 15, 2026

Marquis Edwards
Marquis EdwardsDistrict Manager, Sodexo US

I’ve always believed that you’ll get out of Sodexo what you put into it. It’s a company that invests in its employees and success comes from making the most of every opportunity to grow and develop. I’ve taken part in learning programs, mentoring schemes and stretch assignments and I'm where I am today because I saw those chances and grabbed them.

My original career plan looked very different – I was in college, training to be a paramedic. I needed a part time job and my sister-in-law encouraged me to apply for a cashier position at a Sodexo client contract in Houston where she was working. During a site audit, one of the visiting Sodexo managers mentioned they were impressed with how much I’d learned. He said to give him a call, and after my studies finished, I did exactly that. I was hired as a book-keeper based on a different Sodexo client-site and that’s where the journey really started. Here I am 26 years later!

Marquis Edwards

Building my skillset role by role

Moving into the accountant role was a catalyst. It exposed me to operational side of the business and fed my knowledge on how everything worked. From there, I felt confident to say yes to my first general manager role in 2001 at a small account and that’s where my skill set really started to build. You're the dishwasher, you're the cook, you're the cashier, you're everything when you're at those small accounts. It really rounded my experience in the food service arena.

My career has grown and taken me to places I never thought possible, including working at NASA. I started as an operations manager at the Lyndon B Johnson Space Center in 2004 and then moved to the general manager role. It’s obviously a special location and as you’d expect, there were some memorable moments.

One story really stands out. In 2008, NASA was celebrating its 50th anniversary and a big party was planned for the community, with 12,000 guests. My client asked if I had any ideas about who could help do the food and hospitality. We were just a small team but I said: “We (Sodexo) can”. I knew I could reach out to colleagues across other segments, and we all pulled together to plan and create a fantastic event. It went off without a hitch and was a real showcase for our spirit of teamwork.

Making everyday a better day

In 2012, Sodexo won a new contract with the Air Force and that’s where I’ve been for the last 13 years. The first six years I was the Sr. Marketing Manager, now I’m in the district manager role. On a day-to-day basis I support our employees across 17 locations, acting as liaison between our client, the bases, the subcontractors and the Sodexo teams so we can best serve our military airmen.

There’s never a dull moment. It’s exciting and I get to help people. I consider myself as a servant leader. I'm here for my team; to make their jobs better. Every day I come to work as ‘district manager Marquis’ but whenever I’m talking to a team member I say: ‘no one works for me’. We’re all coworkers.

Good leadership takes time

I want every individual to have the same opportunities to develop that I did. So, I have a ‘champion’ role for almost anything you can think of: labor champion, safety champion, employee engagement champion. It empowers managers across the contract to connect and grow together.

Being seen as a good leader is so rewarding. I remember when I was at NASA, I had an operations manager who was a ‘box ticker’; present but never stood out. I took a lot of time to help him develop and when I was ready to leave, colleagues were shocked, they said he was like a different person. To me, it’s all about being available; making the time to listen to the ambitions of your team members and engage with them.  

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