Indra nooyi lone star or role model

Indra nooyi lone star or role model

In 2006, when Indra Nooyi took over as the CEO of PepsiCo, she shattered the glass ceiling for immigrants and women, becoming one of the world’s most powerful corporate executives heading a business with a billion-plus dollar revenue. At that time, Nooyi was one of fewer than a dozen women at the helm of America’s 500 largest companies.

Under her stewardship, PepsiCo navigated an economic recession, withstood challenges from activist investors, and increased public and policy awareness on issues such as obesity and environmental protection. Even as she navigated through these challenges, the company’s revenues rose from $35 billion to more than $63 billion, and its share price increased by about 80%. Nooyi led PepsiCo to environmental responsibility: reducing water usage and the carbon footprint, and increasing recycling. She also pioneered the embrace of healthier products — expanding the range from ‘fun’ to ‘better and good’. Those achievements notwithstanding, Nooyi’s rise has not pushed a crowd of women to the pinnacle of corporate America. Nooyi’s exit comes close on the heels of the departure of several other women CEOs. Inspirational as her rise has been for Indians and for women in particular, there is no easy route to greater woman power at the top of company boards.

Nooyi is famous for saying that a woman cannot have it all, meaning women have to sacrifice personal life for achieving professional success. This would remain the case, so long as stereotypes of men’s and women’s roles within the family remain intact. Women do far more of housework, looking after children and aged relatives than men do. If men could bring themselves to take on half the load of such work, we could see more Nooyis rise.