Greg Lyons will take over as chief marketing officer of PepsiCo's North American beverage unit, replacing Seth Kaufman, who will serve as president of the Purchase, N.Y. company's North American nutrition category, said a Feb. 17 report from Ad Age. Lyons was most recently PepsiCo's senior vice president of marketing.
Kaufman had held the CMO job since September 2015, according to Ad Age, when he was promoted after Simon Lowden moved on to become the company's president for global snacks and insights. In his new job, Kaufman will oversee brands including Quaker, Tropicana, Naked and KeVita.
As CMO, Lyons will oversee sodas, waters, teas and energy and ready-to-drink coffee drinks in the U.S., according to PepsiCo. Earlier, Lyons was vice president of marketing for Mountain Dew.
PepsiCo's North American beverages division grew organic revenue 1 percent in the fourth quarter, matching the 1-percent growth for all of 2016, noted the company's recent fourth-quarter earnings report. Wells Fargo cited "overall strong results from all North America units" as a positive for PepsiCo in its note to investors this week about the company's fourth-quarter results.
