Donatone named region chair of North America for Sodexo

Lorna Donatone (BSM ’80), CEO of Schools Worldwide for Sodexo, has been tapped to head up Sodexo North America. As region chair of North America, Donatone will assume the duties currently held by Sodexo North America President and CEO George Chavel, who will retire in December 2015. She will also continue to serve as CEO of Schools Worldwide.

A member of the Tulane University Business School Council, Donatone joined Sodexo in 1999 and has held several key leadership roles in the company, including president, Spirit Cruises, president, Schools Division and most recently, president and COO, Sodexo Education.

“Lorna is one of the most able and accomplished executives I've had the pleasure of working with,” said Ira Solomon, dean of the A. B. Freeman School of Business. “I'm delighted to see her take on this exciting new role as Sodexo’s North America chair.”

A board member of the National Restaurant Association since 2005, Donatone currently serves as vice chair and trustee of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. She is past chair of the board of directors of the Women’s Foodservice Forum and is a member of the board of trustees for the Culinary Institute of America. She previously served on the board of Entertainment Cruises and was most recently elected to the board of Jamba Juice Inc.

Donatone began her career in public accounting with Deloitte & Touche in Dallas, Texas, and has worked in the airline, banking and high-tech industries. She has a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Freeman School and an MBA from Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, Texas.