Sodexo appoints new head of legal services

Sodexo has announced the appointment of Gareth John as general counsel for its UK and Ireland operations.

John, who joins from Transport for London (TfL), officially took up his position on 5 January 2009, and is responsible for the management and direction of the company's legal team and affairs.

He had been the director of legal and compliance at TfL since 2005, where he has managed a team of 30 lawyers working on a wide range of issues, including commercial / infrastructure projects, disputes, employment and property matters.

Prior to joining TfL, John's background was in corporate law, joining Hewlett-Packard in 1997 before becoming head of legal UK and Ireland in 2002.

John is based at the company's London offices and reports to Aidan Connolly, Sodexo's finance director.

John said: "I am delighted to have joined Sodexo at an interesting time in the company's development, and am particularly looking forward to managing and working with the legal team."