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Pepsi's Indra Nooyi Is Ad Age's No. 22 Power Player

Despite Revolving Door in Marketing Ranks, Growth Was Strong

Published: November 02, 2009

INDRA NOOYI CEO, PEPSICO
22	Last Year 28

THE POWER: Indra Nooyi, one of the most powerful business women in the world, is responsible for shepherding much-loved brands like Doritos, Tostitos, Tropicana, Quaker, Gatorade and Mountain Dew, not to mention the flagship Pepsi brand. And with the pending purchase of its major bottlers making it easier to control distribution, Ms. Nooyi plans to take full advantage of synergies between the company's snack and beverage brands. Pepsi's marketing and branding has undergone major changes in the last year, but, for better or worse, it's still at the center of popular culture.

THE NUMBERS: Revenues jumped 10% last year to $43 billion, with strength from its food and international divisions. PepsiCo has tallied revenue of nearly $30 billion through the beginning of September. PepsiCo spent $768 million in measured media in 2008. For the first six months of 2009, measured spending was down by almost 25 percent, to $446 million.

THE KEY LIEUTENANTS: Massimo d'Amore, CEO-PepsiCo Americas Beverages, works closely with Ms. Nooyi on the company's beverage strategy, while Jill Beraud is the chief marketer for the beverage division. Ann Mukherjee leads marketing for the company's burgeoning Frito-Lay division as senior-VP and CMO.

THE CHALLENGE: PepsiCo has been a revolving door this year, with the departure of some major marketing talent. There have been some new hires, but insiders worry that the loss of institutional knowledge will be tough to overcome. Pepsi is also still in the process of rolling out its new beverage packaging, with the new Arnell-designed smiley face logo not expected to go global until 2010 or 2011. A further revamp of the Gatorade line, with new flavors and marketing, is also expected in 2010.

THE AGENCIES: The food and beverage giant mostly keeps it in the family with a roster of Omnicom agencies handling its brands. TBWA Worldwide, BBDO and Arnell Group handle key beverage brands. Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and Juniper Park are responsible for key snack brands. OMD Worldwide takes care of media buying. However, Interpublic's Huge and R/GA have picked up significant digital assignments.