Portrait Shiva Priya Manishankar

• Full name: Shiva Priya Manishankar
• Title: Director, Program Implementation at Entegra
• Time with Sodexo: 16 ½ years 
• Location: Burlington
• Segment: Entegra

Discover Shiva and her journey in the company

Shiva is a woman of Indian origin who immigrated to Canada in 2004. As a trained dietitian in her country of origin, she was able to obtain her certification from the Dietetic Association of Canada and Quebec after completing two courses and a 6-month internship. It was this internship that introduced her to Sodexo, as she was completing her certification at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal in 2005.  This internship led her to become interested in the position of food service nutritionist. A few months later, she landed the position of Director of Food Service at a college account in Montreal, a very formative experience for her.

While working in Quebec, it was inevitable that Shiva would have to learn French. When she was hired by Sodexo, she gave herself 3 months to learn the language of Molière, a challenge she met with flying colors. Although they were initially reluctant to report to an English-speaking supervisor, the people from Shiva’s team became very understanding and saw the efforts in learning French. Ultimately, Shiva and her team developed a great working relationship and they all learned from each other.

Growing up in a country like India where the culture and languages are very diverse has allowed Shiva to develop her ability to adapt and to always try to understand the perspective of others by listening to them to be more inclusive.

In 2008, Shiva moved to Ontario to take on the position of Regional Purchasing Manager. To date, she has held several positions in supply management for Sodexo and Entegra. These roles fed her passion for diversity, equity and inclusion, values that she frequently promoted as she had managed the Supplier Diversity portfolio for Sodexo Canada.

Shiva says:

‘’It was so easy for me to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion in my job, since Sodexo had welcomed me with open arms and had always made me feel like I belonged here even though I wasn't from Canada. I felt I needed to be a key player in promoting the company's values and what that meant to me.’’

Shiva's involvement in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Shiva says:

''We want all Sodexo employees to have an open mind and to listen to others. Everyone has something to bring to the table and it's just important to understand their perspective. In these difficult times, talking to colleagues and asking relevant questions with an intention to make them feel included is very important.’’

Shiva has become well known in the company thanks to her work with diverse suppliers. Because of her passion and involvement, she was approached to get involved with the Cultural Diversity Employee Business Resource Group (EBRG) whose mission is to foster, promote and encourage a corporate environment that embraces and values the cultural diversity of its employees. For Shiva, being part of an EBRG allowed her to learn to be a better listener and be more patient, two important skills for teamwork.

Shiva says:

‘’By getting involved with Cultural Diversity, I knew I would meet many people with different backgrounds and life experiences. I wanted to know how a person's culture can influence their behavior. By learning more about a person's culture and background, you can work better with them because you understand where they are coming from.''

Click here to learn more about our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.