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In July 2007 Roberto Cirillo joined Sodexho as head of the Strategy Plan and Group Innovation. At 36 he is the youngest member of the Sodexho Alliance Executive Committee. His responsibility is to guide the development and facilitate the adoption of the Group's strategy within the Group.
Trained as an engineer at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Suisse Roberto Cirillo acquired a solid background in international consulting at McKinsey & Co. He entered the firm in 1999 as a non-specialized Junior Associate in Zurich then became a Project Manager for two years in the Corporate Finance and Strategy department and was promoted in 2003 to Associate Partner in charge of consumer goods and retail sales in the Netherlands. As a strategic consultant for international groups in sales marketing innovation and company change and performance he developed a global view of the business world during a number of lengthy assignments in Europe the United States and the Asia-Pacific region. From this enriching experience he learned the importance of employee career and skills development to a company's performance as well as the need for an ambitious vision and committed leadership to ensure company growth and evolution.
When Roberto Cirillo was first contacted by Sodexho he was preparing to return to Switzerland. He was so impressed by Sodexho's vocation which directly affects the daily life of consumers its multicultural dimension and the personality of its senior executives that he changed his mind. He joined the Group in May 2007 and started learning the ropes a process he says was considerably facilitated by the availability openness and transparency of the people he met with at every level.
Mr. Cirillo soon realized the scale of the challenge he was undertaking in a Group with 332 000 employees serving 40 million consumers. In a highly decentralized worldwide company the only way to get everybody moving in a coordinated fashion is by developing strong relationships quickly and going out to listen to managers on 'their own turf' where every encounter is decisive.
His main challenge will lie in defining strategies to enhance the performance of the Group and its employees by anticipating market trends and supporting changes that will enable the company to achieve its Ambition 2015 objectives. It is a challenge he has taken up with his characteristic enthusiasm and spirit of progress: I see myself growing both professionally and personally through my relationships with people.
Roberto comes from an Italian family that emigrated to Switzerland. He takes great pleasure in introducing his friends to regional specialties which he cooks himself and serves in an atmosphere of Latino music another one of his passions. But it is his love of travel that has truly marked his life. Roberto who has both Swiss and Italian citizenship and speaks five languages fluently considers himself first and foremost a citizen of the world. There is nothing he enjoys more than setting off with a backpack to explore other worlds finding renewed energy in discovery and new experiences. | 