PURCHASE, N.Y. -- Vivek Sankaran, president and COO of Frito-Lay North America, will become CEO of Frito-Lay North America and Kirk Tanner, president and COO of Pepsico Inc.'s North America Beverages, will become CEO of North America Beverages effective March 2019. The leadership split will follow the March 2019 retirement of PepsiCo North America CEO Albert Carey, who will depart after nearly 40 years with the food and beverage company.
"Al has been an invaluable leader, colleague, advisor and friend, and will be missed by all of us at PepsiCo and all of the customers and partners he worked with over his exemplary career," said Ramon Laguarta, CEO of PepsiCo Inc. "Al's unique combination of style, skill, entrepreneurial spirit and executional excellence, has helped make PepsiCo one of the most admired businesses in the world, and raised the bar for our current and future associates. We wish him all the best in his next chapter. While Al leaves big shoes to fill, I have every confidence in our North America businesses under the skilled leadership of Vivek and Kirk in these critical roles."
Sankaran joined PepsiCo in January 2009 as chief strategic officer. Since then, he has held various roles with the company, including senior vice president and general manager of Frito-Lay’s South business unit, chief customer officer for Frito-Lay and chief commercial officer. Prior to working at PepsiCo, Sankaran spent 15 years with New York-based management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
Tanner has worked for PepsiCo for more than a quarter of a century. He joined the company in September 1996 as a marketing development manager for Frito-Lay’s Mountain region. Since then, he’s held roles such as director of sales for Frito-Lay and Sam’s Club, region vice president for Frito-Lay’s Mountain region, vice president of sales in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and president of PepsiCo’s global foodservice division. He attained his current role in March 2016.
Carey had been president and CEO of Frito-Lay North America for five years prior to being named CEO of PepsiCo North America in 2011. Other roles he has held within the company include president of PepsiCo Sales, COO of PepsiCo Beverages & Foods North America, senior vice president of sales for Pepsi-Cola North America and COO of Frito-Lay North America. Carey also worked at Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, for seven years before joining PepsiCo.
"PepsiCo has been like family to me for almost 38 years, and to say this was a difficult decision for me is an understatement," said Carey. "I am so proud of the many accomplishments we achieved as a team along the way, especially with our customers and our front-line associates. PepsiCo has a bright future, and I'm excited about the compelling growth agenda Ramon is bringing. I look forward to watching PepsiCo's continued success for many years to come."
Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc. is a global food and beverage leader with a portfolio of more than 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Besides Frito-Lay North America, its main businesses are Pepsi, Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade.
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