Circles, Led by High-Growth CEO Forum™ Member
Janet Kraus, Is Acquired by Sodexho Alliance

Circles, a leading loyalty services company led by Catlin & Cookman High-Growth CEO Forum member Janet Kraus, has been acquired by Sodexho Alliance, a $18.8 billion multinational company with a strong presence in North America and around the world. “Sodexho’s mission to be a leader in quality of life services is a perfect match for our company,” said Kraus. “For all stakeholders—investors, management, employees and customers—this transaction represents a huge win both strategically and financially.”

Kraus, who co-founded Circles in 1998, joined the High-Growth CEO Forum led by partner Katherine Catlin in 2000. “Janet immediately fit in with our forum, which includes CEOs who are doing a superior job of growing truly great companies with significant and sustainable growth,” said Catlin. “Janet has proactively led Circles through the process of continuous reinvention of the company’s strategy and operations to keep the company moving forward all the way to this successful exit.”

“Janet also is an invaluable forum member because she applies a fresh perspective, insightful analysis, and creative problem solving capabilities to help other members with their leadership challenges,” added Catlin. “At the same time, she’s open to the ideas of others and has made many great discoveries that have helped her grow Circles into a valuable company.”

Starting in 2002, Kraus also worked with Catlin & Cookman Group partner Bouzha Cookman to implement our proprietary Profit Spiral® planning process and Annual Operating System. “Historically, our planning had been a spreadsheet with a list of to do’s and an allocation of the resources needed to get those things done. But it had no vision or strategy attached to it,” said Kraus. “Once we went through the Profit Spiral process with Bouzha, I actually knew how to do a strategic operating plan. The process helped us identify whether we had the right people in the right roles. That kind of thing ends up having a big impact on the bottom line. Most importantly, the process totally defined my role as a CEO.”

Circles will now operate as a free-standing subsidiary of Sodexho, which is the leading global provider of Food and Facilities Management services. Co-founder Kathy Sherbrooke has assumed the CEO role previously held by Kraus, and Kraus has become CEO of Spire, a Circles subsidiary that will now operate as an independent business. Spire is an innovative high-end lifestyle resource. Kraus will continue to be a member of the High-Growth CEO Forum in this new position.

Kraus will continue to be a member of Circles’ Board of Directors. “Sodexho’s mission and values are remarkably well aligned with Circles’ mission and values, which was very important to our decision to ally with them,” she said. “We are extremely excited about Circles future as part of the Sodexho community.”

Circles is a leading provider of concierge, personal assistant, experience and event programs. Circles clients, which include Fortune 1000 companies and some of the most recognized brands in the world, provide Circles programs to their employees and customers, driving employee and customer acquisition, retention and loyalty. For more information, visit www.circles.com.