Acquiring Success While Crossing Borders

What do cross-border movements mean when you are part of Sodexo? Svetlana, Crystal and Germán shared about their experiences travelling from one border to the other, taking on new roles throughout their careers. As they expanded their networks while overcoming professional and personal obstacles; they have discovered their own definition of success through change. 

As a global organization, Sodexo offers never-ending opportunities, tools and support to its employees in visualizing their long-term career goals and materializing them.

Germán Porraz Torres

What happens when unexpected circumstances come along the way and change the course of your professional career?

Germán Porraz Torres started as a U.S. facility manager in New Jersey in 2016. In November 2017, Germán took on the role of general manager in Manhattan, NY. In March 2020, the building closed its doors, leading his direct transfer to a research and development center in New Jersey. In October 2020, Germán moved to Canada with his family to become the current area general manager in a pharmaceutical industry in Toronto.

I was always a big believer that uncomfortable situations lead to unexpectedly greater things and my career with Sodexo strongly reflects this belief. When my family’s U.S. visa renewals got rejected in 2020, my wife received a job opportunity in Canada. In the blink of an eye, as I communicated my personal situation to the human resources team in the U.S., they were extremely proactive in supporting me in the job research process to successfully transfer me to Canada, breaking geographical borders to make it happen!

You might think at first that change becomes impossible when you have your own family and responsibilities. However, Sodexo facilitates the process and alleviates the worries one might come across when moving from a segment to the other yet alone from a country to another. That is quality of life translated in my experience with Sodexo.

A few months later, here I am as the area general manager at a pharmaceutical company bringing my own experience to the Canadian table, learning and acquiring a new set of skills, while being surrounded by my loved ones near me. That’s the Sodexo Experience: exchanging knowledge, expanding your network and most importantly receiving the tremendous support from our team at every step of the way even when it gets rocky. I am extremely grateful for the challenges, the experience and especially the teammates here and in the U.S. who have become my extended family.

 

Svetlana Blumenkranca

While change can come without notice, it can also be initiated as we seek to challenge ourselves and getting out of our comfort zone. The current global pandemic has pushed many of us to rethink our new normality.

Svetlana Blumenkranca, previously Canada’s senior supply manager for bakery, dairy and produce, shares a different perspective of actively initiating change in her professional and personal life, as she made the recent decision to move to the U.S. to fill in the role of senior supply manager for beverages during the pandemic. 

I have always been a traveler, ever since I was young, I was constantly moving from one country to another. As I joined the Sodexo family, I achieved this geographical stability with Sodexo where I was satisfied with how my career was evolving in Canada. Being a senior in supply management for exactly seven years, the pandemic really gave me perspective and purpose to take the next step and seek for change. Thus, my decision to move to the U.S. and take on the Senior Supply Manager for Beverages is perfectly timed. I am currently in the process of packing and preparing myself for this new adventure, the excitement is indescribable.

The wide range of opportunities and flexibility Sodexo has to offer are treasured. You can seek stability at one point of your career and attain it. And if one day, you wake up and are looking for newness and getting out of your comfort zone, you can work to achieve it, within the same company.

 

Crystal Krogh

Moving across segments, roles and borders can come with various challenges and uncertainty as we enter new realms of the unknown. How does fear and change materialize growth, you may ask?

Crystal Krogh has been with Sodexo for four and a half years. She first joined the Sodexo family back in Florida for the first three years, taking in the catering supervisor position then the roles of restaurant manager and retail manager. She then moved to North Carolina where she accomplished the role of food service manager, following with operations manager. She is currently located in Vaughn, ON, where she fills in the role of retail operations manager. 

I have grown so quickly in ways I did not expect. Through the different management positions, I had the chance of learning about myself and my industry, therefore gaining confidence at so many levels. Moreover, I had mentors who saw the skill set and value I was bringing to the table and pushed me to see it in myself. Sodexo builds in these strong bridges to help you cross one path and reach a higher one. Believing in you and pushing you to believe in yourself.

The real beauty behind moving across different segments, as well as living in different cities and countries is how much you get to learn about yourself. I learned about voicing my needs, those of my teams and the needs of the communities we serve.

Five years ago, I had a huge fear of public speaking. Through gradually acquiring different skills, from managing and training teams, to continuously working with our healthcare and university communities...I was finding my own voice and now, I can't stop. I am looking forward to see how high I can get!

 

Find out more about a career at Sodexo!