Sodexo's International Quality of Life Conference in New York City

NEW YORK and MUMBAI, May 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Future Generations Say Quality of Life is Number One Driver of Performance

On May 5 and May 6, in New York, hundreds of leaders from a wide range of backgrounds, including the business community, academia, health care, NGOs and the political sphere gathered to collaborate and challenge current social and economic performance models at the first international Quality of Life Conference, hosted by Sodexo. Over 30 different nationalities were represented at the event, and the next generation of leaders who will drive change in the years to come took part alongside today's influential decision-makers.

Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post, and a panel of global future leaders headlined sessions on the concluding day of this conference.

Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, led attendees in a collective mindfulness session on the evening of the first day. Day two began with a panel discussion between generations - up and coming leaders from the millennial generation alongside leaders in today's business world. Young panelists evoked their generation's commitment to service, flexibility and freedom and posited that the organizations that will thrive tomorrow and attract millennial talent are those that listen to and value employees.

During the session, Sodexo revealed the results of a study of 1,000 students in five countries carried out by Sodexo and Harris Interactive. 69 per cent of high potential millennials totally agree that improving quality of life will have an important impact on the performance of their future organization, versus 57 per cent of current leaders. Next generation leaders ranked quality of life as the number one driver of performance for organizations, while current leaders ranked it fifth.

Huffington then led a forward-thinking panel discussion about ways to transform the way we live and work, challenging a definition of success that is based solely on money and power. The session probed the way quality of life plays out for the employer and the employee and how it is perceived differently in various sectors and businesses.

Renowned economist Jeremy Rifkin concluded the conference speaking about the shift to a world where social capital is more important than financial capital. He urged the audience to be open to a world beyond markets where we must learn to live together in an increasingly independent sharing economy.

"Sodexo has been committed to improving quality of life for 50 years and this conference validates the key role it will play in the future," said Michel Landel, Sodexo CEO. "There have been many inspiring discussions over these last two days, among the wide variety of researchers, corporate, defense, education, healthcare and community authorities who were present. The learnings and human connections we have all made at this conference motivate us to drive forward organizational and societal progress."

For more information, please visit: http://www.qualityoflifeconference.com

Media Contact:
Trisha Aswani
[email protected]
+91-8879008092
Assistant General Manager - External Communications
Sodexo