Indra Nooyi is the current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo, which is the second largest food and beverage enterprise through out the globe. Before she became the CEO, Indra Nooyi was the President, Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of PepsiCo Inc.
Early Life of Indra Nooyi
Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi was born on October 28, 1955 in Chennai, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in India. Initially she studied in Holy Angels AIHSS in Chennai. In 1974, she completed her graduation from Madras Christian College and got her Bachelor`s degree Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. Later, Indra Nooyi completed her Post Graduation from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (now Kolkata) in PGDBA (Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration) programme. After completing the programme in 1976, she worked in India for several years. Indra Nooyi took admission in the Yale School of Management in 1978 for a Master`s Degree in Management.
Career of Indra Nooyi in Business
Following her Master`s Degree in Public and Private Management from Yale in 1980, Nooyi started working at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Before joining Pepsico, she was the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Strategic Marketing for Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), and Vice President and Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning at Motorola. She also spent time at Mettur Beardsell and Johnson & Johnson. Indra Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994. She became the President and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Pepsico in 2001. She became the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pepsico on 14th August 2006 and the 5th CEO in PepsiCo`s 41 year history.
As the CEO, she launched the brand Tricon which is currently known as Yum! Brands Inc. Nooyi also played an important role in the acquisition of Tropicana in 1998, and merger with Quaker Oats Co. She also promoted the concept of Performance with Purpose, aiming to make PepsiCo a leader in offering healthy foods. She also promoted the idea of hiring a diverse workforce.
Nooyi has been listed on Wall Street Journal`s list of 50 women in 2005, and in 2007 was listed among Time`s 100 Most Influential People in The World. According to 2006 Forbes magazine, Nooyi was ranked the 4th most powerful woman in the world. She was ranked 1 on the Fortune Magazine`s list of most powerful women in business. Apart from being a Successor Fellow at Yale Corporation, Nooyi is also the member of the Board of Directors of several organisations, including Motorola, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the International Rescue Committee, and the Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts.
Personal Life of Indra Nooyi
Indra Nooyi lives in Greenwich, Connecticut with her husband, Raj Kishan Nooyi and their two daughters.