Krishnan to CEO of PepsiCo North America, Williams to Vice Chairman
A week after announcing a new strategic plan, PepsiCo yesterday (Dec. 15) announced a series of organizational and personnel changes, including the elevation of Ram Krishnan to CEO of PepsiCo North America, effective Dec. 28.
Steven Williams, who has been CEO of PepsiCo North America for the past year, is given a handful of titles: vice chairman, executive vice president, global chief commercial officer and head of corporate affairs.
“In this new role, Steven will focus on building a unified PepsiCo selling organization, developing a global strategy to accelerate growth for our away-from-home business and engaging stakeholders to support our growth in the US and around the world,” the company said.
Krishnan “will take on an aggressive agenda accelerating the integration of Foods and Beverages operations, where it creates value and enables us to better meet the needs of both consumers and customers,” the announcement explained.
Krishnan’s organization will include:
* Rachel Ferdinando, who will remain CEO of the U.S. Foods Category
* Mike Del Pozzo, who will be promoted to president of the U.S. Beverages Category and join the PepsiCo executive committee
* Gregg Roden, who will continue to lead the North America supply chain team
* Bryan Santee, who will lead the U.S. commercial and go-to-market teams as chief commercial officer-U.S.
Also, Athina Kanioura is appointed CEO of Latin America Foods, in addition to her role as chief strategy & transformation officer. She will succeed Paula Santilli, who will retire after 35 years at PepsiCo.
The company on Dec. 8 revealed a plan “to enhance shareholder value,” largely a response to activist investor Elliott Management, which has been applying pressure since amassing a 2% or more stake in the beverage and snacks company.
There were no great revelations nor personnel changes last week, and most of the review focused on PepsiCo Foods North America, which includes Frito-Lay, Quaker and other non-beverage products.
PHOTO AT TOP: Ram Krishnan (left), Steven Williams