Wishesh December Magazine 2015

‘‘
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 lowfat
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 Tamilspeaking
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.”
DECEMBER 2015 | WWW.WISHESH.COM