PepsiCo CEO and Chairman Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi will step down on October 3, after a 12-year stint. She will hand over the reins to PepsiCo president Ramon Laguarta.
Indra Nooyi spent 24 years at PepsiCo. Though she will step down as CEO on October 3, she will remain Chairman until early 2019 to aid an easy transition.
“Leading PepsiCo has truly been the honour of my lifetime, and I'm incredibly proud of all we have done over the past 12 years to advance the interests not only of shareholders, but all our stakeholders in the communities we serve," Indra said.
Earlier this year, Indra Nooyi was named the first independent female director of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Nooyi joined the world cricket body's Board in June 2018.
Ramon Laguarta, the future CEO, has spent 22 years at the company, and served as the President of PepsiCo.
Before taking her charge in soda behemoth in 2006 (she joined Pepsi in 1994 as a strategist), the 62-year-old had successful stints at companies like Johnson & Johnson in India and later BCG and Motorola.
"Growing up in India, I never imagined I'd have the opportunity to lead such an extraordinary company,” Indra said.
Under Nooyi's leadership, PepsiCo witnessed a net revenue growth from $35 billion in 2006 to $63.5 billion in 2017 and a compound annual growth rate of 5.5%. Dividends per share nearly tripled from $1.16 in 2006 to $3.17 in 2017 and a compound annual growth rate of nearly 10%, according to a PepsiCo statement.
Born to a Tamil family (her father was a banker and her mother was a housewife), she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Madras Christian College in Chennai and later did her MBA from IIM-C.
Besides excelling in academics, she was also a guitarist in an all-girls' rock band.
Having always aspired to be in the US, Nooyi left her job at Johnson & Johnson and applied for the Yale School of Management and got through with a scholarship.
Climbing up the ladder at PepsiCo was not easy but steady results in successive junctures made Nooyi prevail. Under her chairmanship, the company also improved in environmental sustainability metrics.