PURCHASE, N.Y. – PepsiCo made two senior leadership appointments in November.
Jane Wakely will join the beverage and food company as executive vice president, chief consumer and marketing officer and chief growth officer of international foods.
Ram Krishnan, who currently is chief commercial officer, will move to the newly created role of CEO of international beverages and chief commercial officer. Both will report to PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta.
Wakely will focus on driving accelerated growth in her new role by elevating PepsiCo’s consumer-centricity, innovation, brand and marketing capabilities, the company said. She will also be responsible for accelerating the positive choices pillar of PepsiCo Positive, which includes evolving the company’s portfolio into new spaces that are better for the planet and people by developing products with more diverse ingredients, such as plant-based proteins.
Wakely previously worked at Procter and Gamble and at Mars, where since 2019 she served as lead CMO and CMO of Pet Nutrition.
“Jane is a creative and commercially oriented marketer who is passionate about purpose and innovation as critical growth levers,” Laguarta said. “She has a proven track record of success, and I am confident that with her leadership, we will take our consumer-centricity, innovation, brand and marketing strategies and capabilities, and International Foods growth to a new level.”
Krishnan, a 15-year PepsiCo veteran, will focus on driving accelerated growth for the International Beverages business. This includes the company’s international franchise bottlers, with a focus on brand-building, innovation, supply chain, digitalization, talent and sustainability. He will also be charged with leading faster growth for the SodaStream and Beyond the Bottle businesses, among other tasks. His new position takes effect Jan. 1.
“Ram has been an incredibly effective leader for our commercial agenda,” Laguarta said. “With this newly created role, he will bring focus and a proven formula for success to drive faster growth for our International Beverages business.”
PepsiCo., Purchase, N.Y., makes brands including bubly, Gatorade, Pepsi, Lipton, Mtn Dew, Propel, Quaker, Frito-Lay and more.
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