PepsiCo has roped in former Nokia senior executive D. Shivakumar to chart the company’s future as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Indian region. He will report to Sanjeev Chadha, CEO, PepsiCo AMEA (Asia, Middle East and Africa).

Shivakumar, who is popularly known as Shiv, was behind Nokia’s dramatic rise, making it one of the largest multinationals in the country during its heyday between 2007 and 2010.

His new bosses at PepsiCo will expect him to do an encore, especially as he takes over the reins of the food and beverages company at a time when it is facing huge challenges from arch-rival Coca-Cola.

Operational control Shiv will look after the entire operations of the Indian region, which includes Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Besides its food and beverage brands, his mandate will also include PepsiCo’s joint venture with Tata Global Beverages-NourishCo and the franchise businesses in these countries.

For Shiv, the FMCG space is not an unfamiliar territory. The IIT-Madras alumni cut his teeth selling hair-care products in Hindustan Unilever, and is sought after for his marketing insights. At HUL, he was known for growing brand Lipton to historic volumes.

Shiv’s stint at Philip India between 2003 and 2006 was eventful as he doubled revenues of the company’s consumer electronics business in just three years.

Football, golf, cricket and F1 racing are his passions — even flying to England to watch his favourite team Manchester United. Not surprisingly, he takes leadership lessons from sports.

Shiv is also an avid reader. While at Nokia he actually took the trouble of making slide presentations out of what he read in a book and distributed them in the office.

Apart from the Chennai connection, both Shivakumar and PepsiCo’s global CEO Indra Nooyi also are IIM Calcutta alumni.

meenakshi.v@thehindu.co.in

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