NEW YORK: Pepsico Inc’s best-known public face and Corporate America’s most vocal female executive, Indra Nooyi, will step down as CEO on October 3 after 24 years with the food and beverage giant, half of which as chief executive.
According to a company announcement, Chennai-born Nooyi, 62, will remain as chairperson of the board of directors till early 2019 while Barcelona native Ramon Laguarta, 54, will take over as the new CEO.
Even after retirement, Nooyi will continue to influence Corporate America which doesn’t have a good reputation for having female leaders in executive positions.
“People like me, after we leave privileged CEO jobs, I don’t think we can go silent... We have to keep fighting the good fight to develop women, to mentor them, to support them, so that we can get more highly qualified women — and there’s plenty of them —into the boardroom,” Bloomberg quoted her as saying.
Known for her focus on corporate sustainability and responsibility, Nooyi was placed at No 2 on the US Fortune’s list of ‘The Most Powerful Women in Business’ outside the US.
Born in Chennai and studied in IIM Calcutta and Yale School of Management, Nooyi joined the New York-based company in 1994. She was named President and CEO of PepsiCo in 2006.
Under her leadership, the firm’s revenue grew from $35 billion in 2006 to $63.5 billion in 2017.