[SODEXHO MARRIOTT SERVICES, INC. COMPANY LOGO]


    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


    SODEXHO MARRIOTT NAMES NEW
    CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

                  Gaithersburg,   Md.,  February  15,   2000--Sodexho   Marriott
    Services (SDH-NYSE) today announced that John Bush has been appointed Senior
    Vice President and Chief  Financial  Officer,  filling a vacancy  created in
    December  of 1999.  Since 1995,  Bush has served as Senior  Vice  President,
    Finance and Planning for the Sodexho Marriott Services Education division in
    Orlando, Fl., which represents $1.2 billion in sales.
         "John  has an  impressive  combination  of  credentials,"  said  Michel
    Landel,  president and CEO of Sodexho Marriott Services.  "He is a respected
    leader within Sodexho  Marriott  Services and is a good  strategic  thinker.
    John possesses a strong financial and information systems background and has
    an excellent record of improved financial results. Further, John  has actual
    operational experience in our business."
         Prior to his current  position,  Bush served in various  operating  and
    financial roles in the Company. He began his career with the Company in 1976
    in operations at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill.
         Bush has a MBA in Finance and Marketing from the Keller Graduate School
    of Management, Chicago, Ill. and a BA from Hope College in Holland, Mich.

                                    --MORE--





         Sodexho Marriott Services,  Inc.  (NYSE-SDH) is the largest provider of
    outsourced  food and  facilities  management  in North  America,  with  $4.5
    billion  in annual  sales.  Sodexho  Marriott  Services  offers a variety of
    innovative  outsourcing  solutions,  including food services,  housekeeping,
    grounds  keeping,  plant  operations  and  maintenance,  asset and materials
    management, and laundry to the corporate,  health care, education and remote
    site markets. The Company is the 57th largest employer in North America with
    103,000  employees  and its  headquarters  is located at 9801  Washingtonian
    Boulevard, Gaithersburg, Md. 20878.

                                      # # #
    CONTACT:      Kathy Boyle
                  (301) 987-4330
                  email: kboyle@sodexhomarriott.com