Indra Nooyi

Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi (born October 28, 1955) is an Indian-born American executive and is the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo Incorporated. On August 14, 2006, Nooyi was named the successor to Steven Reinemund as chief executive officer of the company effective October 1, 2006. On February 5, 2007, she was named chairman of the board, effective May 2, 2007.

She is a Successor Fellow of the Yale Corporation. She serves as a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, International Rescue Committee, Catalyst and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Eisenhower Fellowships, and has served as Chairperson of the U.S.-India Business Council.

In 2009, Nooyi was considered one of "The TopGun CEOs" by Brendan Wood International, an advisory agency. In 2010 she was named #1 on Fortune's list of the "50 Most Powerful Women" and #6 on Forbes' list of the "World's 100 Most Powerful Women".

Early life and career

Indra Nooyi was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She completed her schooling from Holy Angels AIHSS, Chennai. She received a Bachelor's degree in Physics,Chemistry and Maths from Madras Christian College in 1974 and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management(MBA) from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta in 1976. Beginning her career in India, Nooyi held product manager positions at Johnson & Johnson and textile firm Mettur Beardsell. She was admitted to Yale School of Management in 1978 and earned a Master's degree in Public and Private Management. While at Yale, she completed her summer internship with Booz & Company. Graduating in 1980, Nooyi joined the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and then held strategy positions at Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri.

PepsiCo executive

Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 and was named president and CFO in 2001. Nooyi has directed the company's global strategy for more than a decade and led PepsiCo's restructuring, including the 1997 divestiture of its restaurants into Tricon, now known as Yum! Brands. Nooyi also took the lead in the acquisition of Tropicana in 1998, and merger with Quaker Oats Company, which also brought Gatorade to PepsiCo. In 2007 she became the fifth CEO in PepsiCo's 44-year history.

According to BusinessWeek, since she started as CFO in 2000, the company's annual revenues have risen 72%, while net profit more than doubled, to $5.6 billion in 2006.

Nooyi was named on Wall Street Journal's list of 50 women to watch in 2007 and 2008, and was listed among Time's 100 Most Influential People in The World in 2007 and 2008. Forbes named her the #3 most powerful woman in 2008. Fortune ranked her the #1 most powerful woman in business in 2009 and 2010. On the 7th of October 2010 Forbes magazine ranked her the 6th most powerful woman in the world.

Personal life and recognition

Indra Nooyi is married to Raj Nooyi and has 2 daughters.

At its 2009 commencement, Barnard College awarded Nooyi the Barnard Medal of Honor, the College's highest award.

Forbes magazine ranked Nooyi third on the 2008 and 2009 list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. Fortune magazine has named Nooyi number one on its annual ranking of Most Powerful Women in business for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2008, Nooyi was named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report.

In 2007, she was chosen as a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award by the Government of India. In 2008, she was elected to the Fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In January 2008, Nooyi was elected Chairwoman of the US-India Business Council (USIBC), a non-profit business advocacy organization representing more than 300 of the world's largest companies doing business in India. Nooyi leads USIBC's Board of Directors, an assembly of more than 60 senior executives representing a cross-section of American industry.

Indra Nooyi has been named 2009 CEO of the Year by Global Supply Chain Leaders Group.

Indra Nooyi has also been mentioned in two episode of the hit CW show, Gossip Girl, where one of the main characters, Blair Waldorf plans to get an internship under her.