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Business News/ Companies / D. Shivakumar to head PepsiCo’s India business
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D. Shivakumar to head PepsiCo’s India business

Shivakumar, a former senior executive of Nokia, will succeed Manu Anand who left the company in June this year

D. Shivakumar will be responsible for strategically deploying the `33,000 crore investment in India. Photo: Hemant Mishra/MintPremium
D. Shivakumar will be responsible for strategically deploying the `33,000 crore investment in India. Photo: Hemant Mishra/Mint

New Delhi: Food and beverage company PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd on Monday named D. Shivakumar as the company’s new chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) for the India region.

Shivakumar, a former senior executive of Finnish handset maker Nokia Oyj, will succeed Manu Anand, who left the company in June this year, PepsiCo said in a media statement.

Shivakumar, who worked in Nokia for close to eight years as its head for India, West Asia and Africa, will join PepsiCo with immediate effect, the company said.

The move comes barely a month after PepsiCo Inc. announced an investment of 33,000 crore in India by 2020 to double its production capacity and develop infrastructure. The investment plans were disclosed by PepsiCo’s chairwoman and CEO Indra Nooyi.

Shivakumar will oversee all aspects of PepsiCo’s India region, as well as the NourishCo joint venture with Tata Global Beverages Ltd and the franchise businesses in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He will be responsible for strategically deploying the 33,000 crore investment in India.

In a statement, Nooyi said, “Shiv is one of India’s most respected business leaders. He has a proven ability to take billion-dollar businesses to the next level by maximizing innovation, execution and collaboration."

Shivakumar has worked across consumer interfacing businesses, having spent 14 years at Hindustan Unilever Ltd, where he expanded the Lipton tea brand, and three years at Philips Consumer Electronics India, doubling the company’s revenue over that period.

His experience in the consumer products businesses would be an advantage in his new role, said a human resources expert who didn’t want to be named. “A leader from outside the industry (food and beverages) is bound to bring in a fresh perspective," the expert added.

Additionally, Gautham Mukkavilli, current general manager for the PepsiCo India beverages unit, has been named senior vice-president, business transformation—AMEA (Asia, Middle East and Africa) region, effective 1 March 2014.

In his new role, Mukkavilli will oversee a range of strategic initiatives in both food and beverages across AMEA. Both Shivakumar and Mukkavilli will report directly to Sanjeev Chadha, chief executive at PepsiCo AMEA.

“I’m thrilled to have two leaders of Shiv and Gautham’s stature playing key roles in driving PepsiCo’s business forward in AMEA," said Sanjeev Chadha in the statement. “Both men embody the passion and excellence that will strengthen AMEA’s position as the growth engine of PepsiCo as they bring their unique skills to bear in their respective roles."

India remains an attractive market for PepsiCo, Nooyi had said in a statement in November this year, indicating that PepsiCo would expand into India’s rural markets, as it seeks to boost selling and delivery infrastructure throughout the country.

While at Nokia, Shivakumar was instrumental in pushing the company’s mass market strategy across rural India, home to two-thirds of the country’s population.

PepsiCo and its bottling partners plan to more than double their production capacity in India by 2020, the company said. It has 38 bottling plants in India apart from three food factories.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Suneera Tandon
Suneera Tandon is a New Delhi based reporter covering consumer goods for Mint. Suneera reports on fast moving consumer goods makers, retailers as well as other consumer-facing businesses such as restaurants and malls. She is deeply interested in what consumers across urban and rural India buy, wear and eat. Suneera holds a masters degree in English Literature from the University of Delhi.
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Published: 09 Dec 2013, 04:57 PM IST
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