Indra Nooyi has often been featured in the Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list, and for good reason. She was the PepsiCo CEO for 12 years and helped turn the company into one of the most successful food and beverage companies in the world. In addition to her corporate success, she is also known as a leader who puts her values and hard work first and is respected for her dedication to making the world a better place.
Nooyi was born in 1955 in India to a middle-class family. She once said “I grew up in a Hindu household but went to a Roman Catholic school. I grew up with a mother who said, 'I'll arrange a marriage for you at 18,' but she also said that we could achieve anything we put our minds to and encouraged us to dream of becoming prime minister or president.”
Following that cue to pursue her dreams, Nooyi started her career with Tootal, a British textile company in India. She then joined Johnson & Johnson as a product manager for women’s hygiene. While working there, despite her bachelor’s degrees in physics, chemistry, and mathematics and a postgraduate diploma in management, she craved further education and applied to the Yale School of Management. She was accepted, moved to the U.S., and graduated in 1980 with a master’s degree in Public and Private Management. Her industrious attitude permeated her time at Yale, and she worked as a night receptionist to earn extra money and get herself well-dressed for interviews.
After Yale, she started working at the Boston Consulting Group in 1980, and later on moved on to Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri, where she held strategy positions. Then in 1994, she joined PepsiCo as its chief strategist.
Nooyi stayed with Pepsi until early 2019. Through the years, she became the first highest ranked Indian woman working in America. In 2006, she took over the CEO position and the following year she earned the chairman of the board title as well, becoming the first woman with that title in PepsiCo’s 42-year history.
Under her leadership, Nooyi changed the face of the company, shifted the brand toward healthier food and snacks, and almost doubled the company’s revenue. But beyond leading the company to financial success, she also built a great work culture focused on gender equality. Her impressive tenure with big-name companies has continued to empower others who seek transformative roles, no matter their gender or background.