Indra Nuyi’s career can be called brilliant. She is invariably one of the 100 most influential women in the world. In 2014, she took 13th place on the Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women in the world and second place on the same Fortune list in 2015.
In February 2018, the International Cricket Board announced that in June Indra Krishnamurti Nuy would join the ICC Council as the first independent female director. This appointment was another breakthrough in her already victorious life.
Birth and early years
The biography of Indra Nuyi begins in distant, sultry and mysterious India. She was born into a Tamil family in Madras (now known as Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India. The girl attended an Anglo-Indian high school.
Girl education
Indra Nuyi has always been a rule-breaker in her conservative world of the Indian middle class. In an era when it was unacceptable for young Indian girls to express themselves in any way, she joined the women's cricket team. She even played guitar in a female rock band while studying at Madras Christian College. After receiving a bachelor's degree in chemistry, physics and mathematics, she entered the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta. At that time, it was one of two schools in the country that provided a master's degree in business administration or an MBA. For a girl, it was very important to get a good education.
Indra Nuyi earned a bachelor's degree in physics, chemistry and mathematics from Madras Christian College of the University of Madras in 1974 and practiced in graduate school (MBA) from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta in 1976. In 1978, Nuyi was admitted to the Yale School of Management, where in 1980 she received a master's degree in public and private management.
Carier start
Starting her career in India, Indra Nuyi served as Sales Manager at Johnson & Johnson and the textile company Mettur Beardsell. Attending Yale School of Management, Noah completed her summer internship with Buz Allen Hamilton. In 1980, she joined the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and then held strategic positions at Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri.
Nouyi's first job after graduation was related to the British textile company Tootal. It was founded in Manchester, England, in 1799, but had extensive branches in India. After that, Indra Nuyi was hired as a brand manager in the bombing offices of Johnson & Johnson, a manufacturer of personal care products. She was given a Stayfree account, which could be a serious problem even for an experienced marketing manager. The line has just hit the market in India and has struggled to promote personal care products for target customers. “It was an exciting experience because at that time it was impossible to advertise personal hygiene in India,” she recalled in an interview with Sarah Murray of the Financial Times.
Noah felt that she might not be well prepared for the business world. Determined to study in the United States, she applied and was accepted by Yale University of New York's Graduate School of Management, New Haven, Connecticut. To her surprise, her parents agreed to let her move to America. She did this back in 1978. It was unheard of for a good, conservative South Indian brahmin girl.
Management training
Nooyi quickly settled in her new life, but struggled to make ends meet over the next two years. Although she received financial assistance from Yale University, she also had to work as a night clerk to feed herself. “All my summer work was done in a sari, because I did not have money to buy clothes,” she recalls. Even when she went for an interview to prestigious business consulting firms that hired students from business schools, she wore a sari because she could not afford a business suit. Recalling that the Graduate School of Management required all first-year students to take and take an effective communication course, she said in an interview with the Financial Times that what she learned in it was “invaluable to those who came from a culture where communication was not perhaps the most important aspect of business, at least in my time. ”
Pepsi vs. Cola
The competition between Pepsi and Coca-Cola is one of the longest-running marketing battles in US corporate history. In the United States alone, the soft drinks industry is $ 60 billion, with the average American consuming a staggering fifty-three gallons of carbonated soft drinks every year.
The battle between Coca-Cola and Pepsi dates back to the first days of the existence of both companies. Both became key players in the early decades of the twentieth century, when soft drinks first appeared on the market in the United States. In the 1920s, Coca-Cola was actively moving to overseas markets and even opened factories near locations where US service personnel served during World War II. Pepsi appeared on the world market only in the 1950s, but in 1972 it made a major revolution when it signed an agreement with the Soviet Union. Thanks to this deal, Pepsi was the only Western product ever sold to Soviet consumers.
The battle for market share resumed after 1975, when both companies stepped up their already generously funded marketing campaigns to win new customers. Pepsi's standard products tasted a bit sweeter, triggering one of the biggest mistakes in corporate strategy in US business history: in 1985, Coca-Cola launched New Coke, a new recipe that included more sugar. Coca-Cola consumers were outraged. An old recipe is still available under the name Coca-Cola Classic, but the New Coke idea was quickly criticized by everyone. This incident is often studied in school curricula in the United States and elsewhere, along with many other aspects of the so-called stake wars.
Coca-Cola is a market leader in carbonated drinks. Pepsi, on the other hand, began acquiring other businesses in 1965, after acquiring the Texas-based Frito-Lay, and has a large stake in the food industry (yum brands).
What, meanwhile, was Indra doing?
Nuyi's successes in the field of strategic leader attracted the attention of Jack Welch, head of General Electric. He offered her a job in 1994, and in the same year she received a similar invitation from PepsiCo CEO Wayne Calloway. When she told Business Week about this, the two men already knew each other, but Calloway was more interested in Nuyi. He told her: “Welsh is the best CEO I know ... But I have a need for a man like you, and I would make PepsiCo a special place for you.”
Nooyi eventually chose Pepsi and became the company's chief strategist. Soon, she called on PepsiCo to change her corporate identity and assets and gained influence on a number of important decisions. She has also been a leading negotiator in high-level deals. For example, the company decided to separate its restaurant division in 1997, which spawned branch companies such as KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. She also explored the successful plan of Pepsi's rival company, Coca-Cola, which sold its shares ten years ago, and was rewarded with an impressive return on this move. Pepsi followed suit and the initial public offering of Pepsi in 1999 was valued at $ 2.3 billion. Nevertheless, the company held a large share of the shares.
Jobs at PepsiCo
Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 and became financial director of the company in 2001. In 2006, she was appointed President and CEO, replacing Stephen Reinemund, becoming the fifth CEO in PepsiCo's 44-year history. For more than a decade, Indra Nuyi has guided the company's global strategy and led the restructuring of PepsiCo, including the shutdown of Tricon in 1997. Nooyi also took the lead in acquiring Tropicana in 1998 and merging with Quaker Oats Company, which also led Gatorade to Pepsi Co. She was named the third most powerful woman in business by Fortune magazine in 2014.
Since she began working as CFO in 2001, the company's annual net profit has increased from $ 2.7 billion to $ 6.5 billion.
As the head of Pepsico Holdings, she was ranked among the 50 most famous women in 2007 and 2008 (according to the Wall Street Journal) and was subsequently included in the list of 100 most influential people in the world in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Forbes placed her in third place on the list of the most influential women in the world. In 2014, she took 13th place at Forbes.
The strategic redirection at PepsiCo by the heroine of the article was largely successful. She reclassified PepsiCo products (mostly snacks, or yum brands) into three categories: “good” (like potato chips), “better” (diet products or low fat options for snacks and sodas) and “best” (such products like oatmeal). Her initiative has gained good financial support. She shifted corporate spending from junk food to healthier alternatives to improve the nutritional benefits of even “good” foods.
Nooyi also announced her intention to develop a line of snacks sold specifically for women, feeling that this is a hitherto unexplored category. In a radio interview, she said that PepsiCo was preparing to release products designed and packaged according to women's preferences and based on the behavioral differences of men and women in food consumption.
Merits and Achievements
At PepsiCo, Nuyi was the curator of the two most important acquisitions for the company: she made a deal worth $ 3.3 billion to buy the Tropicana brand of orange juice in 1998, and two years later she was part of the team that organized the purchase of Oats for $ 14 billion. dollars. This deal was one of the most expensive in corporate history and added a huge assortment of cereals and snacks to the PepsiCo empire. She also helped buy SoBe, a beverage maker, for just $ 337 million, and her deal outperformed all Coca-Cola’s rival ever.
For her impressive organizational and diplomatic talents, she was appointed PepsiCo Chief Financial Officer in February 2000. This made her the highest ranking Indian woman in America's corporate history. A year later, she was awarded the title of President of the company, while her long-time colleague Stephen S. Reinemund moved to the position of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.
After becoming the president and chief financial officer of the company in May 2001, Indra Nuyi worked to ensure that the company kept track of its product range. The company offered a dazzling range of snacks and drinks from Mountain Dew to Rice-a-Roni, from Captain Crunch flakes to Gatorade sports drinks. She also took possession of the Doritos appetizer maker and Aquafina bottled water.
Confession
Noah's success in the business world was also noted by Time Magazine Contenders in the 2003 Global Business Influentials ranking. Many observers have long predicted that someday she will head one of the company's divisions, such as Frito-Lay or its main brand, Pepsiko Holdings. At the beginning of 2004, there were references in the press that the candidacy of Nouillie, who still wears a sari at work, was considered for the highest position in the Gucci Group, but she denied any rumors that she was in any way connected with the Italian fashion giant.
Personal life of Indra Nuyi
Nuyi is on the board of trustees of Yale Corporation, a special governing body at Yale University. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, not far from PepsiCo's New York headquarters. At home, she maintains a puja, a traditional Hindu shrine, and once she even flew to Pittsburgh after heavy negotiations with the leaders of Quaker Oats to pray in the sanctuary with her family deity.
Her predictions that her American college education would interfere with her prospects for marriage turned out to be wrong, as she married an Indian, Raja, who works as a management consultant. They have two daughters. Nooyi sometimes brings his youngest child to work. As a former rock guitarist, from time to time she sings and plays with close people. However, the work remains her first priority.
Awards and nominations
In January 2008, Indra was elected Chairman of the US and India Business Council (USIBC). She leads the board of directors at USIBC, bringing together more than 60 senior executives representing various segments of American industry.
Nooyi was named CEO of 2009 by the Global Supply Chain Leaders Group.
In 2013, she was named by the NDTV one of the “25 Greatest Global Legends of Our Time”. December 14, 2013 awarded by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee in Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The Yale School of Management named its training course in honor of Indra Nuiya, as she donated an undisclosed amount to the university, becoming the largest donor among school graduates and the first woman to become a dean of the higher business school.
The fight for healthy food
Nooyi is trying to push Pepsi to healthier offerings by selling “organic” food to customers who are not ready to give up their favorite drinks and snacks. Although soda consumption has been declining in the United States for more than a decade, finding the right approach to business development is not easy. Pepsi has recently lost market share for its carbonated brands because it has shifted its advertising costs too much to new brands such as LIFEWTR. However, Nooyi is working to reduce sugar, salt and fat in many Pepsi products, hoping to complete this work by 2025. This year, the company began selling Simply Organic Doritos, a type of product designed to tidy up the rather bad menu of its Amazon / Whole Foods affiliate.
Leaving the post
On August 6, 2018, PepsiCo Inc confirmed that Nuyi will step down as CEO and that 22-year-old PepsiCo veteran Ramon Laguarta will replace her on October 3. However, Indra will continue to serve as chairman of the company until early 2019.
Indra Nuyi: interesting facts
During her reign, company sales grew 80%. In general, she served as CEO for 12 years — 7 years longer than the average term of office of a CEO in most large companies.