Celebrating Black History Month: A Conversation with Eddie Oliver

· 32 years in engineering and manufacturing
· 20-year relationship with Sodexo
· VP of FM Operations for one of our major oil and gas clients

As part of our Black History Month celebration, we spoke with Eddie Oliver, Vice President, Operations, Sodexo Energy & Resources for one of our major oil and gas clients in Houston, Texas. Oliver who has a 32-year career in engineering and manufacturing, has had a relationship with Sodexo for about 20 years — first as client, and now as vice president at Sodexo of the refinery division. He discusses his career with Sodexo and how he celebrates Black History Month with the Energy & Resources team. 

Interviewer: You have been both a client of Sodexo and now serve as the VP, Operations for Sodexo Energy & Resources. What sets Sodexo apart as a company?

Eddie Oliver: When I was a Sodexo client, the general manager on my account was fantastic. I didn't look at Sodexo as my subcontractor; they were, in my opinion, part of my core family team. In my 10-year career as a Sodexo client, no one surpassed the services that they were giving me. When they asked me to join their team, I assumed that this will probably be a similar scenario. I'd now became the person who's providing the client with ideas and solutions.   

What I love most is we are very engaged with our frontline team that interacts with our clients.  We attend safety walks, quality audits and make sure they have their questions answered to ensure operational performance, safety and service to the client. KPIs, set at the beginning of our client relationship, are reviewed monthly to ensure we are meeting and exceeding expectation. Engaging with our teams closely and regularly is key to meeting our performance goals. 

Interviewer: In your role at Sodexo, are there Black History Month traditions that you celebrate with your team? 

Eddie Oliver: This time of the year is when I will do a presentation. Actually, I'm hosting the one for the Energy & Resources portfolio in a couple of weeks. I usually take the opportunity to talk about something from a historical perspective — whether it be inventions or more of a manufacturing and engineering component. This year I’m doing one on the Tuskegee Airmen. I’ll be talking about the pilots and their challenges in World War II and their ability to overcome some of the hindrances that were facing them back in 1945-1947. We have a large number of people in the portfolio, so I look at that as an opportunity to spotlight a particular historical scenario, a person or group and kind of go from there. 

Interviewer: What do you want them to recognize during Black History Month?

Eddie Oliver: A lot of times, my attempt is just to get the word out on some of the contributions that African Americans have made. The one I did last year was based on the number of inventions by Black scientists — everything from the refrigerator to automobile air conditioning, the refrigerated truck that you see on the roads that carry food, the stoplight that was created after a scientist saw a major accident — these are just some of the things that people take for granted on a day-to-day basis, including myself. It’s a unique opportunity to highlight them.

Sodexo is proud of the work we’ve done to date in diversity management and fostering an equitable and inclusive corporate culture, but there is still more work to do. Learn more about our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion commitments.