Indra Nooyi's last day as Pepsico CEO: All you need to know about the executive who reshaped global beverage giant

Pepsico’s Indian-origin CEO Indra Nooyi, stepped down on Wednesday after 12 years at the helm of the global beverage giant. However, Nooyi will remain the chairman of the company until early 2019. In August, the Board of Directors had unanimously elected Ramon Laguarta, 54, to succeed Nooyi, 62, as Chief Executive Officer. Nooyi ’s departure leaves only one woman of color among Fortune 500 CEOs. In her concluding remarks during PepsiCo’s Third Quarter 2018 Earnings Conference Call on Tuesday, Nooyi said, “You know 12 years is a long time as a CEO, and even though I have a lot of fuel still left in my tank. I wanted to do something different with my life. Spend more time with my family and give the next generation in PepsiCo a chance to lead this great company.” Here is all you need to know about Nooyi: Nooyi, a graduate from Madras Christian College and MBA from IIM Calcutta, oversaw a number of key restructurings during her 24 years’ tenure at New York-headquartered food and beverage giant. She joined PepsiCo in 1994 and had an immediate influence on the company’s strategic direction. She was instrumental in PepsiCo spinning off its Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell restaurants for $4.5 billion. [caption id=“attachment_652685” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file photo of Indra Nooyi. AFP[/caption] According to Fortune, under Nooyi’s leadership, PepsiCo’s revenue grew by 80 percent. Nooyi also pushed PepsiCo to shift from junk food toward healthier snacks and beverages, the report said. In her climb to the top, Nooyi had been at the forefront of several deals that reshaped PepsiCo. While she was chief financial officer, PepsiCo bought Quaker Oats and when she was vice president of corporate strategy, it spun off its interest in Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell. However, it was after becoming CEO in October 2006, that Nooyi cemented PepsiCo’s dominance in the global snacks and drinks market - inking 80 tactical deals, including buying its bottling operations and the Naked juice brand. She has also bolstered its portfolio of healthier offerings, which now account for nearly half of its sales, compared with about 38 percent in 2006, better aligning its portfolio with evolving consumer tastes, according to Morningstar analyst Sonia Vora. More recently, Nooyi focused on reinvigorating sales of its marquee sodas by stepping up marketing efforts to win market share from Coca-Cola. As CEO for 12 years, she has boosted sales of the Mountain Dew and Gatorade maker to $63.5 billion, up 80 percent from when she started. The company’s share price has risen 78 percent in the same period. She also saw off billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz’s efforts to spin off the company’s drinks business from its more successful snacks division by offering his fund, Trian, a board seat in 2015 to make peace. The hedge fund exited its stake in 2016. With inputs from agencies