Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi has led the global strategy of PepsiCo’s for over a decade. Nooyi was named by Fortune in 2013 as the third most powerful woman in business. Seven years running, Nooyi is seen among the Forbes’ list of 100 Most Powerful Women.
Nooyi was born in India. He earned her BA in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics from Madras Christian College, and MBA degree from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. She then moved to the US to attend the Yale School of Management. She finished her graduation at Yale and later joined the Boston Consulting Group. She later worked in strategy at Motorola and power company Asea Brown Boveri. In 1994, Nooyi joined PepsiCo, in 2001, she became President and CFO. In 2006, Indra Nooyi became CEO of PepsiCo.
Nooyi – PepsiCo executive
Nooyi, who joined PepsiCo in 1994 and became President and CFO in 2001, has directed the global strategy of the company for over a decade and led the restructuring of PepsiCo, including the 1997 divestiture of its restaurants into Tricon, now known as Yum! Brands.
She also took the lead in Tropicana acquisition in 1998, besides merger with Quaker Oats Company. In 2006, Nooyi became the fifth CEO in the 44-year history of PepsiCo. Since she took hold as the CFO in 2001, the annual profit of the company raised from $2.7 billion to $6.5 billion.
Nooyi’s strategic redirection of her company has been largely successful. Products of Pepsico were redirected by her as into three categories: “fun for you” (such as potato chips and regular soda), “better for you” (diet or low-fat versions of snacks and sodas), and “good for you” (items such as oatmeal). Ample funding backed up her initiative. She moved to healthier alternatives from junk foods, aiming to improve the healthiness of even the “fun” offerings.
Awards and recognition
Nooyi was ranked by Forbes magazine on the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 lists of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Fortune magazine has named Nooyi as number one on its annual ranking of Most Powerful Women in business for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2008, U.S. News & World Report has named Nooyi as one of America’s Best Leaders. In 2008, she was elected to the Fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In January 2008, Nooyi became the chairwoman of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC). She leads USIBC’s Board of Directors, which is an assembly of over 60 senior executives representing a cross-section of American industry. Global Supply Chain Leaders Group named Nooyi as 2009 CEO of the Year by Global Supply Chain Leaders Group.
In 2009, an advisory agency Brendan Wood International considered her as one of “The TopGun CEOs”. The All-America Executive Team Survey named Nooyi as Institutional Investor’s Best CEOs list in 2008 to 2011.
Personal life
Nooyi was born in Madras (presently Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India, to a Tamil-speaking family. Nooyi who resides in Greenwich, Connecticut, has two daughters. She was ranked by Forbes at the 3rd spot among ‘World’s Powerful Moms’ list.
In an uplifting speech to the outgoing batch of the class of 2015 at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C), Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi says, “The old model has changed. Now you need to learn, earn and return simultaneously. Never stop learning… stay humble.”
