Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi was born in Chennai October 28, 1955 Tamil Nadu in India. She became the chairwomen and chief executive officer of PepsiCo in 2006, the world’s fourth largest food and Beverages Company. According to the polls conducted by Forbes magazine Indra Nooyi ranks third on the 2008 list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. In 2008, Nooyi was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report Indra Nooyi has been also ranked as the number 1 most Powerful Business Woman in the world in 2006 and 2007 by Fortune magazine.
Indra Nooyi full name is Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi and belongs to southern Indian city of Chennai. Indra Nooyi spent her childhood in Chennai, Nooyi father worked at the State Bank of Hyderabad and her grandfather was a district judge. Nooyi has done her graduation from Madras Christian College (MCC) in Chemistry, Physics and Math. After completion of her graduation she did her masters in Finance and Marketing in Calcutta from Indian Institute of Management. After completion of MBA she joined ABB and then Johnson and Johnson in Mumbai. One of her achievement with Johnson and Johnson is her close association with Launch of “Stayfree” sanitary napkin for women.
Nooyi persuaded her parent to let her study at Yale Management School in US. She completed her Master’s in Public and Private Management form Yale. In US before Joining Pepsi she worked with Boston Consulting Group and Motorola.
Nooyi not only shows tenacity for follow-up, but she equally emphasized in the Mergers and Acquisition. This was bolstered by the acquisition of the Tropicana and Quaker fruit juice brands. She is the one who has meticulously planned for the foray of Pepsi into the sport drinks market in association with Gatorade. Indra Nooyi has played a vital role in starting Tricon, which is currently known as Yum! Brands Inc. Nooyi also took the lead in the acquisition of Tropicana in 1998, and merger with Quaker Oats Co.
Indra Nooyi was elected Chairman of the US-India Business Council (USIBC), a non-profit business advocacy organization In March 2008 representing nearly 300 of the largest US companies doing business in India and two dozen of India’s global companies investing in America. Nooyi leads USIBC’s Board of Directors, an assembly of 25 senior executives representing a cross-section of American industry.
Indra Nooyi always takes quick decision and stick to the work until it is accomplished, No doubt her firmness and go getting attitude has won her laurels in the company and this helped her to build a strong foundation in her career graph.
“If she gets an idea, she goes after it. There’s no stopping her.” In 2007, Indra Nooyi was awarded Padma Bhushan by Government of India. In 2008, she was elected to the fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.