ESADE Alum Ramon Laguarta to Succeed Yale Graduate Indra Nooyi As PepsiCo CEO

The Board of Directors of PepsiCo.Inc has unanimously elected Ramon Laguarta, 54, to succeed Indra K. Nooyi, 62, as Chief Executive Officer, the American multinational food, snack and beverage corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York announced on August 6.

Nooyi will step down on October 3 after 24 years with the company, the last 12 as CEO. She will remain Chairman until early 2019 to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. Laguarta, an alum of the ESADE Business School, was also elected to the company’s Board of Directors, effective from October 3, PepsiCo said in a statement.

Laguarta has held a number of executive and general management roles in his 22 years at PepsiCo. Since September 2017, he has served as President of PepsiCo, overseeing global operations, corporate strategy, public policy and government affairs.

Earlier, as CEO, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa, he looked after one of PepsiCo’s most complex businesses with operations spanning three continents and comprised of developed, developing and emerging markets. He began his stint in the company as President, PepsiCo Eastern Europe region and served in a variety of sales, marketing and other commercial roles across Europe.

Under Nooyi’s leadership, PepsiCo has delivered strong results. Since December 31, 2006, the total shareholder return of 162% through December 31, 2017. Total cash returned to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases of $79.4 billion since the beginning of 2006 through the end of 2017

Prior to PepsiCo, he had worked for Chupa Chups, S.A., a leading confectionery company based in Spain, where he held a number of international roles in Europe and the US. Laguarta holds an MBA from ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and a Master’s in International Management (M&M) from Thunderbird School of Global Management in the US A Barcelona native, he speaks multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Catalan, French, German and Greek.

Meanwhile, the India born Nooyi, who became the Yale School of Business’s “most generous graduate” for having gifted an undisclosed amount towards the deanship of the institution in 2016, said PepsiCo today was in a strong position for continued growth with its brightest days still ahead.

“Ramon Laguarta is exactly the right person to build on our success. He is a terrific executive with a long and proven track record of growing businesses. He has a deep understanding of the changing preferences of consumers and other critical trends unfolding around the world, and he has demonstrated that he knows how to navigate them successfully. Ramon has been a critical partner in running the company, and I’m confident he will take PepsiCo to new and greater heights in the years to come.”

Under Nooyi’s leadership, PepsiCo has delivered strong results. Since December 31, 2006, the total shareholder return of 162% through December 31, 2017. Total cash returned to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases of $79.4 billion since the beginning of 2006 through the end of 2017

Dividends per share nearly tripled from $1.16 in 2006 to $3.17 in 2017, a compound annual growth rate of nearly 10% Net revenue growth from $35 billion in 2006 to $63.5 billion in 2017, a compound annual growth rate of 5.5%.

“Leading PepsiCo has truly been the honour of my lifetime, and I’m incredibly proud of all we have done over the past 12 years to advance the interests not only of shareholders but all our stakeholders in the communities we serve,” said Nooyi.

Commenting on his appointment, Laguarta said, “I’m incredibly humbled and privileged to be appointed the next CEO of PepsiCo. He said Nooyi has transformed the company with her bold vision and outstanding leadership and he felt fortunate to have her as a mentor and a friend.

Laguarta will become the sixth CEO in PepsiCo’s 53-year history. All have been appointed from within the organization, a testament to PepsiCo’s strong bench of talent and succession planning, the company statement said.(Image Source:wikipedia.org)