Her 8 year tenure at PepsiCo has involved responsibilities ranging from human resources recruitment to communications, as well as the typical CFO tasks of overseeing finance and strategic planning. Notable successes include the engineering of the $14 billion PepsiCo merger with Quaker Oats and PepsiCo’s purchase of Tropicana juices. In both situations, Ms. Nooyi demonstrated a keen ability to utilize unconventional strategies to persuade skeptics to pursue uncertain, but strategically sound initiatives.

Prior to joining PepsiCo, Ms. Nooyi developed her business savvy by working her way from product management at Johnson & Johnson to Vice President and Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning for Motorola to Senior Vice President of Strategy for Asea Brown Boveri.

Ms. Nooyi, a native of India, earned her B.S. from Madras Christian College and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta. She went on to obtain her Master of Public and Private Management from Yale University in 1980.

She is notorious for her broad interests. An avid reader and self-proclaimed insomniac, she is noted to finish one book every other day on topics ranging from romance to politics. An accomplished musician, she played lead guitar for an all-girl rock band in college and enjoys rock n’ roll and jazz music. She maintains a busy schedule of global speaking engagements and serves on the Advisory Boards for Yale University, the International Rescue Committee, and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Also, an avid sports fan, she actively follows basketball and baseball. Furthermore, a married mother of two daughters in a dual career home, she serves as a role model as she successfully walks the fine line balancing family and career.

Ms. Nooyi has differentiated herself by challenging traditional business conventions and addressing business issues with a fresh, yet firm approach. From conducting meetings in traditional Indian dress to singing show tunes at parties, Ms. Nooyi has clearly demonstrated that there is an equally effective alternative to the buttoned-down traditional corporate culture.