Winning hearts and minds: Lorraine’s leadership through Sodexo’s first year at ESNEFT 

When Lorraine Thomas looks back on the first year of Sodexo’s partnership with East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), she sees more than a major contract mobilisation. She sees people. Their fears, their resilience, their growth – and the trust they’ve placed in her team. As Business Director for ESNEFT, Lorraine has led one of the most complex and high-profile mobilisations in Health & Care. Over 1,000 colleagues transferred into Sodexo across two acute hospitals and numerous community sites – each group with its own history, culture and challenges. It has been, as she describes, “quite a journey.” But for Lorraine, the journey began long before ESNEFT.

Early responsibility and foundations that shaped her

Lorraine grew up in a small family of three: her parents separated when she was 10 years-old, and her dad – working long shifts at Ford Motor Company – raised her and her sister alone. 

With her dad out of the house from 6am to 6pm, Lorraine learned to run the home, cook meals, and care for her younger sibling: “I grew up very quickly… those experiences shaped my values and work ethic.”

Leaving school at 16, she worked Saturday jobs and became a trainee loss adjuster before taking a temporary role in the staff canteen at Ford. That job, meant to fill a gap, kickstarted her entire career in facilities management. 

Recognised early for her potential, she moved from food service assistant to chef manager, then into significant vending projects. Over 15 years with Sutcliffe/Compass, she worked nationally across Ford sites, gaining experience without ever losing her people-focused approach.

Her move to Sodexo came via a colleague who had already transitioned. A new General Services Manager role opened on the Carpetright contract in 2007, when Lorraine’s son was just six months old and her daughter was four. 

Balancing national travel, nursery drop-offs, and the challenges of single parenting became part of her story: “sometimes it felt like being on a Grand Prix track without a pit stop.”

The mobilisation: complex, emotional, and full of camaraderie

Few mobilisations are as culturally diverse as ESNEFT. Lorraine’s contract involved first-generation NHS outsourcing at Colchester, NHS staff from community sites with long-built independent resilience, and an already outsourced workforce moving over to Sodexo. There were more than 1,000 people in total, each group with different expectations, behaviours, and experiences.