Aramark

Aramark was founded as Davidson Brothers in 1936 by Davre and Henry Davidson. Davidson Brothers began by providing vending services to plant employees in the aviation industry in Southern California.

In 1959, Davre Davidson partnered with William Fishman to establish ARA , which became publicly traded a year later in 1960. In 1968, ARA provided services at the Mexico City Olympic Games, the first of 16 Games they have serviced, including Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008.In 1969, ARA officially became ARA Services, to reflect its growing range of businesses. In 1983, Joseph Neubauer was elected CEO of ARA Services, and a year later, Neubauer led a group of executives to fend off a hostile takeover bid by coordinating a management buyout.ARA Services changed its name to Aramark in 1994. In 2000, Aramark purchased the concessions arm of the Ogden Corporation for $225 million in cash and $11 million in assumed debt, expanding its business to locations that included several major sports league venues, such as Staples Center in Los Angeles, and the Arrowhead Pond and Edison International Field in Anaheim. In 2001, Aramark returned to the New York Stock Exchange as a public company under the RMK ticker. In 2006, a group of investors led by Neubauer proposed the acquisition of all outstanding shares of the Aramark Corporation, which was approved by shareholders. The merger was completed in 2007.In 2004, Aramark acquired a 90% stake in the Irish catering company Campbell Catering. In 2006, Aramark acquired Seamless. Aramark spun off its majority shares in Seamless in 2012.In July 2009, Aramark and the Colorado Rockies opened what is believed to be the first gluten-free concession stand in major league baseball. By 2010, Aramark made gluten-free foods available at all 12 of its major league baseball accounts.On August 29, 2011 Green Mountain Coffee Roasters sold Van Houtte USA to Aramark for $145 million.In May 2012, Aramark announced that its board of directors had elected Eric J. Foss as CEO and that Joseph Neubauer would remain the company's Chairman. In December 2014, Joseph Neubauer announced his retirement and Foss was elected as the company's next chairman.In 2015, Aramark acquired Irish retail and hospitality business, Avoca Handweavers.Aramark partnered with The Humane Society in August 2017, part of their initiative to increase plant-based food offerings for consumers. The training partnership includes a series of plant-based culinary trainings over a six-month period.On August 26, 2019, Eric J. Foss retired as chief executive officer . Aramark created a position of "Office of the Chairman" consisting of Lauren Harrington, Stephen Sadove, Lynn McKee and Bramlage Stephen to handle day-to-day operations, until a new CEO was found. On October 7, 2019, John Zillmer, who previously spent 18 years at Aramark, returned to the company and was named the new CEO.On May 10, 2022, Aramark announced they would spin off its Uniform Services division into an independent, publicly traded company. The move is expected to be complete by the end of Fiscal Year 2023.