PepsiCo boss steps down

Indra Nooyi

PEPSICO chief executive Indra Nooyi is to step down after 12 years at the helm.
She is among the world’s most prominent female business leaders and has consistently appeared on Forbes’ list of the 100 most powerful women, ranking 11th in 2017.
PepsiCo shares have risen 78 percent since she took the job in 2006.
Nooyi, 62, has been with the company for 24 years. Current president Ramon Laguarta will succeed her.
In a series of posts on Twitter, the businesswoman referred to her upbringing in India and said she “never imagined” she’d have the opportunity to lead a company like PepsiCo. She also described “mixed emotions” about leaving the role.
Nooyi was chief financial officer before becoming chief executive in October 2006.
“She has delivered a strong and consistent financial performance, managing with an eye toward, not only the short-run, but the long-run as well. As chief executive officer, she grew revenue more than 80 percent, outperforming our peers and adding a new billion-dollar brand almost every other year.” said a PepsiCo statement.
PepsiCo’s board of directors unanimously voted in 54-year-old Laguarta, who will take over on October 3 and will also join the board, according to the company.
A 22-year veteran of PepsiCo, Laguarta oversaw global operations, corporate strategy, public policy and government affairs in his role as president. Nooyi will continue as chairman of the board until early 2019.
Indra Nooyi’s success on the global stage has been ardently followed in India. For the tens of thousands of students who go from here to the US each year, the fact that a woman born in the southern city of Chennai, or Madras as it was called when she lived there, reached the helm of one of the world’s largest companies, is evidence that the American dream is real.
But Nooyi’s achievements were seen as particularly remarkable because of the odds she had to fight. In a conservative, patriarchal society, where women are married off at an early age, and even many of those who do get jobs often have to quit when they have children, Nooyi has been an inspiration for many across India. — BBC