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Top 10 Facts About Indra Nooyi

Indra Nooyi is an Indian-American business executive who was the chairperson and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. Nooyi was born on October 28, 1955, in a Tamil Hindu Brahmin family in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India.

Indra Nooyi received bachelor’s degrees in physics, chemistry and mathematics from Madras Christian College of the University of Madras in 1975, and a Post Graduate Programme Diploma from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta in 1976.

Here are the top 10 facts about Indra Nooyi.

1. Nooyi has  ranked among the Forbes World’s 100 most powerful women

Since 2004, the American business magazine Forbes has compiled an annual list of the 100 most powerful women in the world.

In 2014, Nooyi was ranked number 13 on the Forbes list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women and was ranked the second most powerful woman on the Fortune list in 2015 and 2017. Read more about 55 Most Influential Women Entrepreneurs. 

2. Indra was admitted to the Yale School of Management

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In 1978, Nooyi was admitted to Yale School of Management and moved to the United States, where she earned a master’s degree in public and private management in 1980.

In 2016, Nooyi gifted an undisclosed amount to her alma mater, The Yale School of Management. She became the school’s biggest alumni donor in history and the first woman to endow a deanship at a top business school with her gift.

3. Nooyi worked as vice president at Motorola 

Beginning her career in India, Nooyi held product manager positions at Johnson & Johnson and the textile firm Beardsell Ltd. While attending Yale School of Management, Nooyi completed a summer internship with Booz Allen Hamilton.

In 1980, Nooyi joined the Boston Consulting Group as a strategy consultant, and then worked at Motorola as vice president and Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning, followed by a stint at Asea Brown Boveri.

4. Indra was named CEO of Pepsi in 2006

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Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 and was named CEO in 2006, replacing Steven Reinemund, becoming the fifth CEO in PepsiCo’s 44-year history. Prior to becoming CEO, Nooyi served as president and chief financial officer, beginning in 2001, she was also named to PepsiCo’s board of directors. 

Between February 2000 and April 2001, Nooyi was senior vice president and chief financial officer of PepsiCo. She also served as PepsiCo’s senior vice president for corporate strategy and development from 1996 until 2000, and as PepsiCo’s senior vice president for strategic planning from 1994 until 1996.

 5. Under Nooyi’s leadership, PepsiCo acquired Yum! Brands

Nooyi directed the company’s global strategy for more than a decade and led PepsiCo’s restructuring, including the 1997 divestiture of Tricon, now known as Yum! Brands. Tricon included companies like Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell under its umbrella.

The financial gains from this spinoff allowed the company to increase the pace of its share buyback strategy, thereby giving it more leverage to pursue future acquisitions without as much shareholder backlash. Nooyi also took the lead in the acquisition of Tropicana in 1998, and the merger with Quaker Oats Company, which also brought Gatorade in 2001.

6. PepsiCo’s annual net profit doubled during Indra’s tenure as CEO

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Acquiring Tropicana allowed PepsiCo to gain a competitive edge; Tropicana at the time captured 44% of the chilled orange juice segment, the fastest growing segment of the juice market, an especially positive metric when compared to Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid which captured less than half of Tropicana’s market share.

The Quaker Oats Company’s ownership of Gatorade was a positive strategic move for PepsiCo since Gatorade was responsible for 80% of sports drink sales at the time. Similar to the Tropicana acquisition, this strategic move gave PepsiCo leverage against Coca-Cola, the owner of Powerade second in the sports drink segment. PepsiCo’s annual net profit rose from $2.7 billion to $6.5 billion.

7. Nooyi is the co-director of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center

In 2019, Nooyi became the co-director of the newly created Connecticut Economic Resource Center, a public-private partnership with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

She will help draft the state’s new economic development strategy. Nooyi is a resident of Connecticut and a Yale SOM classmate of Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont.

8. Nooyi earned $17 million as Pepsi CEO

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While CEO of PepsiCo in 2011, Nooyi earned $17 million, which included a base salary of $1.9 million, a cash bonus of $2.5 million, pension value and deferred remuneration of $3 million.

By 2014, her total remuneration had grown to $19,087,832, including $5.5 million of equity. Read more about 15 Most Famous Business Women in the world. 

9. Indra serves in various boards including Amazon and the World Economic Forum

Nooyi serves in various capacities, including as a member of the 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 chairman of the U.S.-India Business Council.

Nooyi serves as an Honorary Co-chair for the World Justice Project. The World Justice Project works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.

10. Nooyi is a teetotaler

She is a Hindu by faith and abstains from alcohol. A teetotaler is one who practices or advocates teetotalism, one who abstains completely from alcoholic drinks. 

Read more about 15 Most Famous Indian Women.