Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PepsiCo, Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi, who is frequently ranked among the most powerful women in the world, was born on October 28, 1955.<\/p>\n
The company she leads is an American multinational food and beverage corporation whose products are available around the world. Its portfolio includes 22 brands, each generating more than $1 billion in estimated annual retail sales. As of January 2012, PepsiCo Inc. annual net revenues were $43.3 billion. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Nooyi was born in Chennai (then Madras) in Tamil Nadu, and studied at the Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School. After receiving a Bachelor\u2019s degree in 1974 from the Madras Christian College, she secured a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Calcutta\u2019s Indian Institute of Management in 1976.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In India, she worked in Johnson & Johnson and the textile firm Mettur Beardsell till she secured admission to the Yale School of Management in 1978 \u2014 marking the beginning of her journey in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up in India, I had a long-distance love affair with America,\u201d Nooyi recalled in a 2010 speech to the Brennan Center for Justice. \u201cI admired everything about this country \u2014 its ideals, its commitment to justice, equality and its willingness to break barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Yale, she got a Master\u2019s degree in Public and Private Management. After graduating, she joined the Boston Consulting Group, and later held important positions at Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri.<\/p>\n
From 1986 to 1990, she was Motorola\u2019s vice-president of corporate strategy, and helped the firm develop automotive and industrial electronics. She became an American citizen in 1990. In 1994, she joined PepsiCo. She rose quickly through the ranks, and by 2001 was chief financial officer, directing the company\u2019s global strategy and internal restructuring. In 2006 she became the CEO of PepsiCo.<\/p>\n
Under her watch, PepsiCo acquired Tropicana in 1998. There was also a merger with Quaker Oats and the divesture of YUM! Brands. In 2010, with Nooyi at the helm, PepsiCo completed the $7 billion takeover of the Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas. This resulted in the formation of Pepsi Beverages Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary. With Nooyi spearheading the major international acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods in 2011, Pepsico became Russia\u2019s top food and beverage provider.<\/p>\n
Nooyi has articulated the company\u2019s long-term strategy with the mantra of \u2018Performance with Purpose\u2019 that aims to expand business while simultaneously \u201cinvesting in a healthier future for people and the planet\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018Performance with Purpose\u2019 is \u201cnot a stand-alone initiative\u201d, she told \u2018fellow stakeholders\u2019 in an open letter. \u201cInstead, our sustainability goals, across the four planks\u2014Performance, Human, Environmental and Talent sustainability\u2014are woven into the fabric of our brands, guiding how they do business, while generating significant sourcing, operational and consumer impacts that improve both our top and bottom lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides being a member of the PepsiCo board of directors, Nooyi is a member of the boards of the International Rescue Committee, Catalyst and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She is also a Successor Fellow of Yale Corporation and a member of the Board of Trustees of Eisenhower Fellowships. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Stressing on the importance of work-life balance and having an understanding spouse, during an interaction with Infosys\u2019 Nandan Nilekani, organised by The Economic Times<\/em>, she said: \u201cPeople like us get very lonely, because you cannot share too much with other people. So you come home and he [her husband Raj] is there and you can discuss anything with him and he gives you sound advice. Not telling you what to do, he will help you think through all sides of the issue, so that you can make informed decisions. So that way he has been a great support.\u201d<\/p>\n Accolades have come in plenty for the Indian-American CEO.<\/p>\n Nooyi was ranked fourth on the 2008 and 2009 Forbes<\/em> magazine\u2019s list of \u2018The World\u2019s 100 Most Powerful Women\u2019. Fortune<\/em> magazine named her number one on its list of \u2018Most Powerful Women in business\u2019 for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. She was named one of \u2018America\u2019s Best Leaders\u2019 by U.S. News & World Report<\/em> in 2008. She has also been elected Chairwoman of the US-India Business Council. \u00a0<\/p>\n Nooyi has often spoken about issues such as women\u2019s health and global poverty. \u201cI often think of the women who [\u2026] give birth without a trained medical worker, a doting mother, or a loving family member at their side. Who comes to their aid?\u201d she wrote in the The Independent<\/em>. \u201cFor all too many women around the globe, the answer is no one . . . As women, we share a special passion for this issue . . . But [we] need to make men our partners in progress . . . And we need to work together with governments and organisations to build a future where no woman needlessly dies while bringing new life into this world.\u201d<\/p>\n Alongside her personal achievements, Indra Nooyi\u2019s rise to the pinnacle of the global corporate ladder is also seen as another success story for Indian-American businesspersons as well as female leaders. Summing up her ambition for her company, she said in the letter to stakeholders: \u201cThe promise of PepsiCo it is not about altruism. It is not about environmentalism. It is, instead, about enlightened self-interest: we believe these are the benchmarks that PepsiCo must meet to succeed in today\u2019s economy while ensuring [\u2026] a continuing climate in which PepsiCo can prosper.\u201d<\/p>\n Also on this day:<\/p>\n 1867 \u2014 Sister Nivedita, social worker, was born<\/p>\n 1911 \u2014 Piara Singh Gill, nuclear physicist, was born<\/p>\n 1958 \u2014 Ashok Chavan, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, was born<\/p>\n 2012 \u2014 Savita Halappanavar died in an Irish hospital, triggering protests against Ireland\u2019s abortion laws<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PepsiCo, Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi, who is frequently ranked among the most powerful women in the world, was born on October 28, 1955. The company she leads is an American multinational food and beverage corporation whose products are available around the world. Its portfolio includes 22 brands, each generating more than $1 billion in… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history"],"yoast_head":"\n