PepsiCo announced that chief executive officer Indra K. Nooyi will take the additional title of chairman of the board.
Nooyi, 51, succeeds Steven S. Reinemund, just as she did last October when she became CEO of the soft drink and snack food giant. Reinemund announced last August that he would retire on May 2.
Nooyi, who joined the company in 1994 as senior vice president of strategic planning, was named president and chief financial officer and elected to PepsiCo’s board in 2001. According to PepsiCo, she was the primary architect of the company’s restructuring and transformation, including the merger with Quaker Oats, the acquisition of Tropicana, the divestiture of PepsiCo’s restaurants into YUM! Brands, and the spin-off and public offering of company-owned bottling operations into Pepsi Bottling Group.
Before joining PepsiCo, Nooyi spent four years as senior vice president of strategy and strategic marketing for Asea Brown Boveri, and four years as vice president and director of corporate strategy and planning at Motorola.
Though more companies are splitting the roles of chairman and CEO, Nooyi’s new title continues the pattern followed by her four most recent predecessors: Reinemund (2001-2006), Roger A. Enrico (1996-2001), Wayne D. Calloway (1986-1996), and Donald M. Kendall (1971-1986.).
Ironically, four decades ago, when holding both top positions was not so controversial, PepsiCo divided the responsibilities between its first chairman, Herman W. Lay (1965-1971) and Kendall.
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