Ramon Laguarta elected Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo
PepsiCo, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously elected Ramon Laguarta, 54, to succeed Indra K. Nooyi, 62, as Chief Executive Officer. Nooyi will step down on October 3rd after 24 years with the company, the last 12 as CEO. She will remain Chairman until early 2019 to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. Laguarta was also elected to the company’s Board of Directors, effective October 3rd. Laguarta will become the sixth CEO in PepsiCo’s 53-year history.
All have been appointed from within the organisation, a testament to PepsiCo’s strong bench of talent and succession planning. Laguarta has held a number of executive and general management roles in his 22 years at PepsiCo. Since September 2017, Laguarta has served as President of PepsiCo, overseeing global operations, corporate strategy, public policy and government affairs. Previously, Laguarta served as Chief Executive Officer, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa, one of PepsiCo’s most complex businesses with operations spanning three continents and comprised of developed, developing and emerging markets. Prior to that, he served as President, PepsiCo Eastern Europe region and served in a variety of sales, marketing and other commercial roles across Europe.
Prior to PepsiCo, Laguarta worked for Chupa Chups, S.A., a leading confectionery company based in Spain, where he held a number of international roles in Europe and the U.S.
Laguarta holds an MBA from ESADE Business School in Spain and a Master’s in International Management (MIM) from Thunderbird School of Global Management in the U.S. A Barcelona native, he speaks multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Catalan, French, German and Greek.
With Nooyi’s departure, the rest of PepsiCo’s senior leadership team will remain unchanged. Laguarta’s direct reports will be: Hugh F. Johnston, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer; Dr. Mehmood Khan, Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer, Global Research and Development; Albert P. Carey, Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo North America; Vivek Sankaran, President and Chief Operating Officer, Frito-Lay North America; Kirk Tanner, President and Chief Operating Officer, North America Beverages; Laxman Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer, Latin America and Europe Sub-Saharan Africa; Silviu Popovici, President, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa; Mike Spanos, Chief Executive Officer, Asia, Middle East and North Africa; Dave Yawman, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary; Jon Banner, Executive Vice President, Global Communications and President, PepsiCo Foundation; and Ruth Fattori, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer.
Continuing to report to Laguarta will be Jim Andrew, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer; Grace Puma, Executive Vice President, Global Operations; and Eugene Willemsen, Executive Vice President, Global Categories & Franchise Management.
