PURCHASE, N.Y.: With Indra Nooyi exiting PepsiCo. as its longtime chief executive, the circle of CEOs in the Fortune 500 is losing one of its highest profile women.
Nooyi, who was born in India, is a rarity on Wall Street as a woman and a minority leading a Fortune 500 company. She oversaw PepsiCo. during a turbulent time in the industry that has forced food giants including Coca-Cola Co., Campbell Soup Co. and Oreo maker Mondelez International Inc. to adapt to changing tastes. All those companies changed CEOs in roughly the last year.
At PepsiCo. Inc., Nooyi stressed the company’s move toward “good for you” options that people don’t feel as guilty eating, such as Baked Lay’s potato chips and Naked juices made of fruits and vegetables. The company has not abandoned sugary sodas or more indulgent snacks.
Nooyi, 62, has been with PepsiCo. Inc. for 24 years and held the top job for 12.
Another PepsiCo. veteran, Ramon Laguarta, will take over as chief executive in October, the company said Monday. Nooyi will remain as chairwoman until early next year.
“Growing up in India, I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to lead such an extraordinary company,” Nooyi said in a statement Monday.
Nooyi began her career in India with positions at companies including Johnson & Johnson. She later attended the Yale School of Management.
The percentage of female CEOs in the Fortune 500 has climbed slowly over the years and broke the 5 percent mark just last year, according to Catalyst, which promotes women in the workplace. The Fortune 500 includes the largest companies based on revenue.
In the S&P 500, an index that includes companies from different sectors, there are currently 25 female CEOs including Nooyi, according to Catalyst. That also represents around 5 percent of CEOs.
Within the food industry, Nooyi is the latest female chief executive to step down, following Mondelez CEO Irene Rosenfeld last year and Campbell CEO Denise Morrison earlier this year.
The packaged food industry has been undergoing major changes through acquisitions, spinoffs and mergers as big companies look for ways to revive slumping revenues.
Nooyi, who took over as chief executive of PepsiCo. in 2006, has resisted calls by an activist investor to spin off the company’s beverage business, which has struggled in North America, from its better-performing Frito-Lay snacks business. Some of PepsiCo’s other brands include Mountain Dew, Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker Oats.
Nooyi hands the reins to the 54-year-old Laguarta, who has held a variety of positions in his 22 years at PepsiCo. over more than two decades. He currently serves as president, overseeing global operations, corporate strategy, public policy and government affairs. He previously served as CEO of the Europe Sub-Saharan Africa region.
Laguarta will be the sixth CEO in PepsiCo’s history, with all of them coming from within the company.
Shares of PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., rose more than 1 percent to close Monday at $117.38.
PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi latest high-profile female CEO to exit
PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi latest high-profile female CEO to exit
- Nooyi, 62, has been with PepsiCo. Inc. for 24 years and held the top job for 12
Global brands shut Middle East stores as conflict causes chaos
- Luxury brands and retailers close stores in Middle East
- Conflict threatens the region that has been luxury’s fastest growing
- Mass-market retailers monitor situation, adjust operations in region
PARIS: In Dubai and other major Middle Eastern shopping hubs, many stores are closed or operating with a skeleton staff as the escalating conflict in the region causes chaos for businesses and travel.
The US-Israeli air war against Iran expanded on Monday with no end in sight, with Tehran firing missiles and drones at Gulf states as it retaliates for a weekend of bombing that killed Iran’s supreme leader and reportedly killed scores of Iranian civilians, including a strike on a girls’ primary school.
Chalhoub Group, which runs 900 stores for brands from Versace and Jimmy Choo to Sephora across the region, said its stores in Bahrain were closed, while other markets, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan remained open though staff attendance was “voluntary.”
“We operate with a lean team formed of members who volunteered and feel comfortable to come to the store,” Chalhoub’s Vice President of Communications Lynn al Khatib told Reuters, adding that the company’s leadership team personally visited Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates on Monday morning to check in with workers.
E-commerce giant Amazon closed its fulfillment center operations in Abu Dhabi, suspended deliveries across the region and instructed its employees in Saudi Arabia and Jordan to remain indoors, Business Insider reported on Monday, citing an internal memo.
Gucci-owner Kering said its stores were temporarily closed in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar and it has suspended travel to the Middle East.
Luxury growth engine under threat
Shares in luxury groups LVMH, Hermes, and Cartier-owner Richemont were down 4 percent to 5.7 percent on Monday afternoon as investors digested the knock-on impacts of the conflict.
The Middle East still accounts for a small share of global spending on luxury — between 5 percent and 10 percent, according to RBC analyst Piral Dadhania. But the region was “luxury’s brightest performer” last year, according to consultancy Bain, while sales of expensive handbags have stalled in the rest of the world.
Now, shuttered airports have put an abrupt stop to tourism flows into the region and missile strikes — including one that damaged Dubai’s five-star Fairmont Palm hotel — are likely to dissuade travelers, particularly if the conflict drags on.
“If you assume that it’s a $5 billion to $6 billion (travel retail) market and let’s say it’s going to be shut down for a month, we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that are definitely at risk,” said Victor Dijon, senior partner at consultancy Kearney.
If Middle Eastern shoppers cannot travel to Paris or Milan, that could also hurt luxury sales in Europe, he added.
Luxury brands have been investing in lavish new stores and exclusive events across the region. Cartier unveiled a “high-jewelry” exhibition in Dubai’s Keturah Park just days before the conflict started.
Cartier and Richemont did not reply to requests for comment.
Luxury conglomerate LVMH has also bet big on the region. Last month, its flagship brand Louis Vuitton staged an exhibition at the Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab hotel, and beauty retailer Sephora launched its first Saudi beauty brand.
LVMH does not report specific figures for the region, but in January Chief Financial Officer Cecile Cabanis said the Middle East has been “displaying significant growth.” LVMH did not reply to a request for comment on how its business may be impacted by the conflict.
The Middle East has also attracted new investment from mass-market players. Budget fashion retailer Primark said in January that it plans to open three stores in Dubai in March, April and May, followed by stores in Bahrain and Qatar by the end of the year.
“Primark is set to open its first store in Dubai at the end of March but clearly this is a fast-moving situation which we are monitoring closely,” a spokesperson for Primark-owner Associated British Foods said.
Apple stores in Dubai will remain closed until Thursday morning, the company’s website showed, while Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M said its stores in Bahrain and Israel are closed.
Consumer goods group Reckitt has told all employees in the Middle East to work from home, temporarily closed its Bahrain manufacturing site and suspended all business travel to the region until further notice.
