Women of Influence
(7 votes, average: 4.71 out of 5)April 15, 2009 by Erin Casey
Associated Press
Indra Nooyi: ‘Performance with Purpose’
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi is known for her intelligence and keen business strategies, as well as being a deeply caring person who, as her predecessor in the job has said, “can relate to people from the boardroom to the front line.”
At the helm of a $43.3 billion conglomerate, which employs more than 185,000 people in 200 countries, Nooyi’s mission is to drive profits while maintaining a focus on what’s good for people and for the planet—“performance with purpose,” she calls it. Nooyi has undertaken an ambitious long-term effort to reinvent the soda and snack-food giant to offer healthier choices such as fruit juices and oatmeal. And the world has taken notice; Forbes and Fortune list Nooyi as one of the world’s foremost female business executives, and U.S. News & World Report asserts that she is one of America’s best leaders.
Already, Nooyi has seen the company through significant changes, including divesting its YUM Brands Inc. holdings, which included Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. She also championed acquisitions of Tropicana, Quaker Oats and California-based Naked Juice.
“We recognize our responsibility to address diet and nutrition concerns around the globe,” Nooyi says on PepsiCo’s Web site. “We’re mindful of the way the world is changing, and we’re listening to experts who provide deep insights and enabling solutions. As a result, we’ve made steady progress transforming our portfolio, for example, by introducing new products that offer improved nutrition.”
Born in Madras, India, Nooyi earned her undergraduate and MBA degrees in her home country and started her career there. But, she says, her life was shaped by a desire to come to the United States. She did that in 1978 to earn a master’s degree in public and private management at Yale. “Leaving India was a big choice and a scary choice—no one in my family had left the country,” she says. “Deciding to stay here was a big decision because it was leaving the cocoon of my family.”
After Yale, she began a successful climb up the career ladder, joining PepsiCo in 1994 as senior vice president of corporate strategy and development, followed by a stint as chief financial officer. In 2006, she was named CEO.
Nooyi, 53, admits her journey has been incredible: “To get to where I am today, and if you look at where I started, the two points don’t connect.”
What she loves most about America is the freedom to be herself. A wife and mother of two girls, Nooyi speaks to her own mother twice a day. She continues to wear a sari to some events, sing karaoke and play electric guitar. A cricket player in college, she’s become a baseball fan. And while she openly admits that getting to the top has not come without sacrifice or regrets, she is proud to be a citizen in a country where opportunities and advantages go to people based on their abilities and hard work.
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I am really inspired and impressed by these women. When I think of my own accomplishments, they pale in comparison. They are very strong and talented women and I am glad they are being recognized for their achievements.