Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi is one of the top female business leaders in the world that I admire. It should be known that Nooyi is the Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. She became the CEO of PepsiCo in 2006 after Steven Reinemund. All along, she has performed exemplarily and that is why she is a board member of various organizations. She was born in India where she is said to have attended schools. Later on, Indra Nooyi attained a degree in 1974. In addition, she also got an MBA in 1976. Nooyi began her career in India at Johnson & Johnson. Here, she was the product manager where she later on went to Mettur Beardsell. As a matter of fact, she completed her masters in 1980 after going through an internship with Booz & Company. From 1980, she started out with Boston Consulting Group. Ever since then, she has held various positions in different companies including Motorola.
Nooyi was born in a conservative family meaning that she led and lived a rather unique life. In this case, her life was unusual as a girl. Something unique about Nooyi is that she had a passion for rock music. On the other hand, she was also a good cricket player. Women and girls were expected to help their mothers around the house and this is why it was rather unusual for Nooyi to go to a business school. This means that she was defying the society’s trends which later on paid her dearly because she was able to launch her career by holding different positions in various companies. Her first challenging position was as the product manager of sanitary pads at a period where such products could not be advertised. This was challenging because some retailers were not ready to stock such a product which was a big problem. She is credited for propelling this product in the market because of her marketing efforts that saw her travel to meet consumers directly.
We can wholesomely say that Nooyi has had a very challenging career that can inspire anybody irrespective of his/her gender. All along in her life, she had wanted to attend schools in the US. Nooyi was surprised at the turn of events after applying for this program because her parents allowed her to go which she did not expect. As a matter of fact, she was surprised that she had been given some financial aid. Nooyi has occasionally confessed that such a decision was likely to make her unmarriageable because it was unheard of in the conservative India. What is inspiring about Nooyi is the fact that despite her not having enough money, she could later on work in the evenings to make ends meet. Her unusual style of dressing did not deter or distract her as she would later on attend various interviews.
Due to determination, Nooyi was able to buy two suits and later on got a job at the Boston Consulting Group where she worked for six years. It should be known that she landed two job offers in 1994. One offer was from PepsiCo while the other one was from General Electric. Nooyi had a problem on deciding the best place to go and PepsiCo CEO at that time told her that he really needed her. As a matter of fact, he told her that the organization had a special place for her. Most of the strategies that have propelled the company to growth can be credited to her. For instance, the company’s diversification from its restaurant division was as a result of her initiative. Although this did not go down well with the CEO at that time, she got her way in 1997.After this; her next move was the acquisition of Tropicana and Quaker Oats. These changes have transformed the company in a broad way which is commendable.
In 2000, she was appointed as the company’s chief financial officer; a move that raised its stock by more than 30%. This saw the company’s earnings increase meaning that she is a great business leader. As a matter of fact, the company has a strong grouping of products that have increased and enhanced its performance. While working with Reinemund, the CEO, the pair was described as the most unusual management team in the country. All this withstanding, their strengths were able to serve the company well. As far as her career in the company is concerned, she has directed its strategy for the last decade. In this case, she has been behind its restructuring and divestiture. Nooyi has been exemplary as far as leadership is concerned and this has been aided by her skills. She believes in competence and this is what has enabled her to be successful in her endeavors.
Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi is in charge of a company that has more than185, 000 employees in more than 200 countries which can be very challenging. This is what I admire more about her because she is still able to preside over other functions that come with her job. She has established herself as a caring CEO and this is something that is needed in the current competitive business world. As a matter of fact, she is a master of substance based on her mastery of the company’s products. It has been noted that she is caring and that is why she can relate with anybody. Her dream and ability to reinvent the company is something that can not be achieved without perseverance and dedication. In this case, it is quite obvious that she has been dedicated to her job. This is very admirable because it has taken her time to reinvent the company through dedication. Her ability to move beyond the obvious trade off between people and profits is something that has not been achieved by various managers today.
Leaders are supposed to be competent and this is very important. As far as competency and skills are concerned, she has proved that she can be truly committed to what she wants to achieve. This is something that I admire about her because some people will set out targets but fail to achieve them because of one reason or the other. Leaders are supposed to chart the destiny of a given organization or company and this is what Nooyi has just done. We can say that creativity is a very important aspect as far as being a good leader is concerned and this is what has made Nooyi to be successful. I admire Nooyi because of her assertiveness and this is something that is supposed to be emulated by other business leaders. All in all, Nooyi is very strategic and that is why she is running and leading a big company like PepsiCo that has operations in more than 200 countries. PepsiCo has been successful with Nooyi at the helm and she deserves a pat on the back.
As far as leadership and leadership skills are concerned, there is something that can be learned. This means that there is need for honesty because people, employees, fellow managers and shareholders should be able to trust you. This can not be achieved without honesty which is an important skill. Leaders are supposed to be forward looking because the company is supposed to be competitive. There is a lot of competition in the market which can be explained from PepsiCo’s diversification strategy. All this are important aspects that need dedicated and forward looking leadership for long term sustainability. There are certain events that mould our lives and this should not be confused with suffering because they will ultimately have an impact on our future responsibilities. Business leadership is very demanding meaning that one is supposed to be dedicated and focused on the tasks ahead. Leaders are supposed to be dedicated to their jobs and more so on what is supposed to be accomplished.
As far as leadership is concerned, we will be exposed to diverse and different environments but this does not hinder us from achieving what we desire. Business leaders are supposed to be competent to achieve the company’s set targets and objectives. This requires a lot of assertiveness because the whole organization will look upon the leader to give direction. I have learned that as a business leader, an individual should be ready to be given a role that might be challenging. All in all, leaders are supposed to be intelligent because you can not lead other people if you are not intelligent since you are expected to think wide and make hard decisions. For an individual to be a good business leader, he or she should have a vision that will guide him in his job. This enables busies leaders to be dedicated to their jobs which is necessary in the current competitive business world.
Pepsi has been performing well for the last 25 years. All in all, the company has been increasing their dividend which makes it a member of the elite group. As a matter of fact, the dividend that the company is offering competes well with others. This has been possible because of good leadership from Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi who has been at the helm. In this case, she commented positively about these developments in the company. Under her leadership the company has been registering a strong growth in profits and revenues. As earlier noted, Nooyi was able to transform the company through focused leadership when she was the chief financial officer.
This shows that there is something unique about her that has enabled the company to move forward for all the years that she has been with the company. Through her leadership, it should be known that Pepsi as a company has been able to get top tier financial results as time goes by. Shareholders are supposed to get good returns and that is why Nooyi insisted that they will remain focused on giving them good value for their money. As a matter of fact, Nooyi admits that since 2001, they have returned more than $48 million. This corresponds well with the period that she was appointed as the chief financial officer meaning that she has been in charge. In 2011, the company’s shares have risen by 6.5% which is commendable.
According to the company’s annual report of 2009, it has been performing well as far as market growth is concerned. As a matter of fact, the company has delivered sustainable growth in different markets under Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi. This was well elaborated by the CEO who was upbeat that this momentum can be maintained. As far as financial performance is concerned, the company’s revenues grew by 5%. On the other hand, its operating profits also rose by more than 6%. Despite a turbulent year, the company was able to grow its operating profits meaning that it had the right strategies in place. This can not be achieved without a good and focused leader like Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi. Outstanding productivity enabled the company to grow in new markets thereby competing well with its peers.
New and emerging markets like Africa showed strong growth because of dedication and a focused strategy. The company’s entire beverage portfolio has been increasing positively as time goes by which is good news for investors because they want more returns. As a matter of fact, under her leadership, she came up with good strategies that will continue to guide the company in the next coming years. In this case, it can be said that under Nooyi’s leadership, the company has been able to achieve both short term and long term financial goals. In conclusion, the company has been able to make global investments in areas that will continue to return good profit margins for long term sustainability. Pepsi has been able to register good sales that amounted to $ 108 million because of effective leadership.