TransCity

PepsiCo has announced that Chief Financial Officer and President Indra Nooyi will take over as Chief Executive from Steve Reinemund in October.

Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 as chief strategist following jobs at Motorola, ABB and Boston Consulting Group. She has developed many of the important changes that have transformed PepsiCo’s business over the last years. Nooyi directed its global strategy for over a decade and was the architect of divesting restaurants into Yum!Brands, spinning off Pepsi Bottling Group, and acquiring Tropicana and Quaker Oats. Reinemund said of her at the handover meeting: ‘She not only co-authored our vision and drafted our strategic blueprint, she has a sharp talent for turning insightful ideas into realities and replenishing our talent base.’

Nooyi’s promotion could be seen as a vindication of the policy of ethnic and gender diversity that Reinemund has placed at the heart of the business in his five years as leader. It seems fitting that he should be succeeded at the helm of the world’s third-largest branded-food and beverages company – after Nestlé and Kraft – by an Indian-born woman. Sources say that diversity at PepsiCo is more than just a corporate accessory – it is an essential strategy as the company seeks to expand globally and into new markets. Having managers who are close to the new consumers is seen as vital. Nooyi’s Indian background could also help in resolving problems that both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are having in India after a scare about pesticide contamination, which both companies deny responsibility for.

Source: Marketing Week

Now watch the much talked about Diet Pepsi truck commercial with P. Diddy: