Editing Foundever (section)

==History==

=== Early history ===
Foundever started as a subsidiary of [[United Technologies]] called HQ800 and located in Omaha, Nebraska.<ref name="book">{{cite book|title=International Directory of Company Histories|volume=128|pages=415–418|chapter=Sitel Worldwide Corporation|first=Jay|last=Pederson|year=2000|publisher=St James Press}}</ref> Its then-President, James F. Lynch, bought the company for $165,000 in 1985.<ref name="Henry 1999">{{cite news | last=Henry | first=Kristine | title=Sitel seeking remedy for its growing pains| newspaper=The Baltimore Sun | date=February 28, 1999 | url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1999-02-28-9902270238-story.html | access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref> He renamed it "'''SITEL'''/'''Sitel'''," which stands for "System International TELemarketing."<ref name="book" /> At the time, SITEL had about $100 million in annual revenue<ref name=":0">{{cite news|title=Founder of Sitel takes reins again 2 top officers resign as teleservices firm moves to cut costs|newspaper=The Sun|first=Dan|last=Dang|date=March 31, 2001}}</ref> and 16 employees.<ref name="journal">{{cite journal|journal=CONfines of International Relations and Political Science|title=Los call centers y los nuevos trabajos del siglo XXI|issn=1870-3569|first=Jordy|last=Micheli Thirion|page=56|language=Spanish}}</ref>

Sitel was listed on [[NASDAQ]] in 1995.<ref name="The New York Times 1995">{{cite web | title=Investing IT: At the Gate; With New Issues, Small Can Be Beautiful | website=The New York Times | date=September 10, 1995 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/10/business/investing-it-at-the-gate-with-new-issues-small-can-be-beautiful.html | accessdate=October 13, 2019}}</ref><ref name="cc">{{cite news|title=Sitel founder goes to work on rebuilding|last=Monegain|first=Bernie|newspaper=CC News|publisher= Yarmouth|date=June 1, 2001}}</ref> Afterwards, it expanded internationally by opening new offices and acquiring other call center companies abroad.<ref name="book" /><ref name="Henry 1999" /> For example, in 1996 Sitel acquired [[London]]-based telemarketing company Mitre PLC for $230 million.<ref name=":1">{{cite web | title=Sitel to Acquire Mitre PLC For $230 Million in Stock | website=WSJ | date=June 7, 1996 | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB834165969747997500 | ref={{sfnref | WSJ | 1996}} | access-date=October 13, 2019}}</ref> Simultaneously, Sitel announced it bought a 69.2 percent interest in Teleaction, a Spanish-focused telemarketing company, for about $24 million.<ref>{{cite web | title=Sitel Announces Acquisitions Totaling $289 Million | website=The New York Times | date=June 8, 1996 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/08/business/company-news-sitel-announces-acquisitions-totaling-289-million.html | ref={{sfnref | The New York Times | 1996}} | access-date=October 13, 2019}}</ref> That same year, Sitel acquired Canadian Telephone Corporation.<ref name="journal" />

In the 1990s, Sitel grew about twelve-fold to $600 million in revenues.<ref name=":0" /> Sitel had 24,000 employees and 70 call centers but was struggling to turn a profit.<ref name="Henry 1999" /><ref name="cc" /> It had substantial debt from the cost of acquisitions<ref name="cc" /> and expenses related to closing unprofitable call centers it had acquired.<ref name="Henry 1999" /> In 2001, Sitel was restructured to reduce taxes<ref name="cc" /> and hundreds of middle-management positions were cut.<ref name="Henry 1999" />

=== Ownership changes ===
By 2005, Sitel had $1 billion in annual revenue.<ref name="journal" /> The majority owner of Sitel Group, [[Onex Corporation]], bought-out shareholders for $450 million in 2007, taking Sitel off NASDAQ and making it a privately-owned company.<ref name="Roumeliotis 2015" /> Sitel was merged with Onex Corporation's subsidiary ClientLogic Corporation.<ref name="reuters20072">{{cite web | last=Sharma  | first= Rakesh | title=Sitel says shareholders vote for merger with ClientLogic | website=U.S. | date=January 12, 2007 | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sitel-takeover-clientlogic-idUSWNAS725020070112 | accessdate=November 6, 2019}}</ref> Onex paid an additional $51 million in 2008 and $60 million in 2014 to buy preferred shares, bringing its ownership of Sitel to 86 percent.<ref name="Roumeliotis 2015" />

France-based Group Acticall, which was founded in 1995 by Laurent Uberti and Olivier Camino,<ref name="Guerrero. 2017">{{cite web | last=Guerrero | first=C.M. | title=French call-center giant making its new home in Miami | website=Miami Herald | date=June 23, 2017 | url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/biz-monday/article157886769.html | access-date=October 24, 2019}}</ref> acquired Sitel in 2015, valuing the company at $850 million.<ref name="ReutersFrance">{{cite web | last=Snyder | first= Brian | title=Acticall, acteur majeur des centres d'appel avec le rachat de Sitel | website=Reuters France | date=September 18, 2015 | url=https://fr.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idFRKCN0RI1X620150918 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218200546/https://fr.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idFRKCN0RI1X620150918 | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 18, 2019 | language=fr | accessdate=October 24, 2019}}</ref>

In June 2021, Sitel acquired a public customer service company [[Sykes Enterprises]] for $2.2 billion.<ref name="sykes">{{cite news|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2021/08/31/sykes-2-billion-sale-officially-closes.html|newspaper=South Florida Business Journal|title=Sykes goes private with Miami group's $2.2 billion all-cash deal|first=Lauren|last=Coffey|date=August 31, 2021|accessdate=October 4, 2021}}</ref> In March 2023, Sitel and Sykes fully merged to form Foundever.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ammachchi |first=Narayan |date=2023-03-09 |title=Sitel Goes for a Rebrand; Changes Name to “Foundever” - Nearshore Americas |url=https://nearshoreamericas.com/sitel-goes-for-a-rebrand-changes-name-to-foundever/ |access-date=2025-03-03 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fresen |first=Natalie |date=2023-03-07 |title=Sitel Group accelerates global transformation with rebrand to Foundever {{!}} Retail Bulletin |url=https://www.theretailbulletin.com/food-and-drink/sitel-group-accelerates-global-transformation-with-rebrand-to-foundever-07-03-2023/ |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=Retail Bulletin {{!}} Daily UK Retail News |language=en}}</ref>

===2022 data breach ===

[[Okta, Inc.|Okta]], a large [[identity and access management]] company, had a security breach in early 2022 that it blamed on Sykes, one of many companies which provides customer support services for Okta.<ref name = tech2>https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/23/okta-breach-sykes-sitel/ ''Okta says hundreds of companies impacted by security breach''  by Zack Whittaker TechCrunch March 23, 2002  Retrieved 4/4/22</ref> Documents leaked in May 2022 raised serious questions about Sitel/Sykes' security defenses, and gaps in Okta's response to being notified of the security breach by Sitel.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Newman |first=Lily Hay |title=Leaked Details of the Lapsus$ Hack Make Okta's Slow Response Look More Bizarre |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/lapsus-okta-hack-sitel-leak/ |access-date=April 13, 2022 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref>