PepsiCo Announces Key Personnel Changes

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Sep 11, 2012, 04:30 ET

PURCHASE, N.Y., Sept. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) today announced the following personnel changes:

John Compton, PepsiCo's current President, has chosen to depart PepsiCo to become CEO of Pilot Flying J Oil Corporation based in Knoxville, Tennessee.

PepsiCo Europe CEO Zein Abdalla appointed President, PepsiCo.

PepsiCo executive Enderson Guimaraes named CEO of PepsiCo Europe, succeeding Abdalla.

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PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said, "We are sad to see John leave PepsiCo. John joined PepsiCo as a 21-year-old at the Pulaski, Tennessee Frito-Lay facility, and since that day has made countless positive contributions to this company. He is a humble and collaborative leader who cares deeply about both the business and developing talent. John is also passionate about his family, and what is particularly impressive about his decision is that he is choosing what is right for him and his family. I have enjoyed a long friendship with John and will miss him. I'm confident John will enjoy great future success, and we wish him all the best as he takes this unique opportunity to return to his native Tennessee."

Compton said, "It isn't easy leaving a company I've been a part of for 30 years. I love PepsiCo, and I will always be part of the PepsiCo family. I have deep and personal ties to Tennessee, and my family's plan all along has been to return to Tennessee at some point. It isn't often that the opportunity arises to run one of America's largest private companies, and this new opportunity was a once in a lifetime chance to do so. This is something I just had to do. I remain deeply committed to PepsiCo, especially the wonderful women and men worldwide who make the company so unique and special. I'm confident in PepsiCo's business strategy, and I believe that PepsiCo's best days are yet to come. I wish Indra and PepsiCo all the best in the future."

In announcing the appointment of Abdalla as PepsiCo's President, Nooyi said, "We have drawn from our strong and seasoned cadre of business leaders in appointing Zein Abdalla as President. Zein's strategic vision, global experience and focus on execution will serve him very well in this new assignment." Nooyi added, "Zein has demonstrated outstanding business and operational results as the leader of our European sector. During his tenure the division grew revenues from $7 billion to $14 billion; he led the transformation of the European portfolio, shifting it towards the higher-growth markets in the region; and along the way he also helped PepsiCo become the largest food and beverage company in Russia."

In his new role as President, Abdalla will oversee PepsiCo's global category groups (Global Beverages, Global Snacks and Global Nutrition), Global Operations (IT, Global Procurement, Supply Chain and Productivity), Global Marketing Services and Corporate Strategy. Working with the geographic business units, Abdalla's team will drive innovation and brand building while significantly reducing the overall cost structure of the company.

"I look forward to building on the excellent work John has done by working with the Global Groups and the sector CEOs to continue to drive PepsiCo's growth agenda," said Abdalla. "We will continue to focus on global brand-building, breakthrough innovation and productivity throughout the organization."

Enderson Guimaraes will replace Abdalla as CEO of PepsiCo Europe. Guimaraes currently serves as President of PepsiCo's Global Nutrition Group. Prior to joining PepsiCo in 2011, Guimaraes served as executive vice president of Electrolux and chief executive officer of its major appliances business for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, based in Belgium. Guimaraes previously spent 10 years at Philips Electronics, first as a regional marketing executive in Latin America and ultimately as senior vice president and head of global marketing management.

"Enderson has an extensive track record of business leadership and results in Europe, and I'm confident he will do a stellar job in his new role," Nooyi said. "PepsiCo has an excellent business and a strong, experienced team in Europe, and I'm looking forward to returning to Europe, where I have spent much of my career," said Guimaraes. "It's a large market which is going through tremendous change at the moment and PepsiCo's portfolio is uniquely positioned to be successful there."

Guimaraes' Global Nutrition Group successor will be named shortly. Abdalla and Guimaraes will report to Nooyi. The following key senior operating executive positions remain unchanged in reporting to Nooyi: Saad Abdul-Latif, CEO of PepsiCo Asia, Middle East & Africa (AMEA); Al Carey, CEO of PepsiCo Americas Beverages; Brian Cornell, CEO of PepsiCo Americas Foods; Hugh Johnston, executive vice president, CFO; and Mehmood Khan, chief scientific officer for global R&D.

The personnel changes announced today are effective immediately. Abdalla will be based in Purchase; Guimaraes will be based in Geneva.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Our main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment by conserving energy and water and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

Cautionary Statement
Statements in this communication that are "forward-looking statements" are based on currently available information, operating plans and projections about future events and trends. Terminology such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "project," "anticipate," "will" or similar statements or variations of such terms are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such terms. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: changes in demand for PepsiCo's products, as a result of changes in consumer preferences and tastes or otherwise; PepsiCo's ability to compete effectively; unfavorable economic conditions in the countries in which PepsiCo operates; damage to PepsiCo's reputation; PepsiCo's ability to grow its business in developing and emerging markets or unstable political conditions, civil unrest or other developments and risks in the countries where PepsiCo operates; trade consolidation or the loss of any key customer; changes in the legal and regulatory environment; PepsiCo's ability to build and sustain proper information technology infrastructure, successfully implement its ongoing business transformation initiative or outsource certain functions effectively; fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; increased costs, disruption of supply or shortages of raw materials and other supplies; disruption of PepsiCo's supply chain; climate change, or legal, regulatory or market measures to address climate change; PepsiCo's ability to hire or retain key employees or a highly skilled and diverse workforce; failure to successfully renew collective bargaining agreements or strikes or work stoppages; failure to successfully complete or integrate acquisitions and joint ventures into PepsiCo's existing operations; failure to successfully implement PepsiCo's global operating model; failure to realize anticipated benefits from our productivity plan; any downgrade of our credit ratings; and any infringement of or challenge to PepsiCo's intellectual property rights.

For additional information on these and other factors that could cause PepsiCo's actual results to materially differ from those set forth herein, please see PepsiCo's filings with the SEC, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. PepsiCo undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE PepsiCo