Diverse Views, Dynamic Company

Indra K. Nooyi
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
PepsiCo

Food and beverage companies like PepsiCo play a special role in peoples’ lives. Our products are enjoyed by millions on a daily basis – at home, at school, at work and at play. The food and beverages we make provide both nourishment and satisfaction.

It’s a special – and close – relationship built, first and foremost, on trust. This trust is based on our ability to understand, and meet, the unique and ever-changing needs of the people who buy our products: people who live in communities of all sizes located in nearly every region around the globe.

At PepsiCo, we know we cannot succeed as a business unless we are first successful as an organization – successful as people – making that connection to others, and ensuring the trust they have in us remains strong.

That’s why diversity and inclusion are such fundamental parts of our business. We cannot connect with diverse groups of consumers unless our organization is equally dynamic and diverse. This is especially so where the Latino/Hispanic community is concerned: a community that is itself so rich and diverse – comprised of people with heritages from throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America, and, indeed, around the world.

Currently, 12 percent of our U.S. associates are Latino/Hispanic; a number which is very near the proportion of Hispanics in the U.S.

We have Latino/Hispanic executives at all levels of leadership in our organization, playing key roles across a broad range of functional areas. Nearly 10 percent of our executives at the senior vice president level are Latino/Hispanic, and there is Latino/Hispanic representation on our board of directors. And because our company is constantly in a process of self-assessment and learning, we created a Latino/Hispanic advisory board comprised of external leaders from a broad range of backgrounds who provide us with objective insight and counsel.

To keep the lifeblood of our company rich and the promise of our future bright, we actively seek to hire talented young Latinos and Hispanics at PepsiCo. Through our strong ties to the Latino/Hispanic community, we reach out to these individuals at recruitment events at colleges and universities as well as events in local communities throughout the country. Last year we hired six Latinos/Hispanics in our executive ranks and already this year we have nearly doubled that number with 11 new Latino/Hispanic executive hires.

Within the company, the Pepsi Latino Network and Adelante provide our Latino/Hispanic associates with networks through which to obtain information and discuss issues pertaining to important topics including business development, professional development and career advancement. These groups also serve as ambassadors within the company educating fellow employees about the Latino/Hispanic culture as it relates generally to our PepsiCo community and specifically to our businesses.

We’re committed to ensuring diversity and inclusion beyond the walls of our company. Up and down our supply chain diversity and inclusion are critical to meeting our business goals.

Since 1982, we have done nearly $8 billion of business with women and minority suppliers. Since 2002, our average spending on women and minority suppliers has grown an average of 12 percent per year, and just last year we contracted over $1 billion of business with minority and women-owned firms.

Partnerships like these are a model for sustainability. Through them, PepsiCo’s success translates into success for the suppliers’ firms, which has a positive impact on the communities in which they operate.

So as the next quarter, the next year and the next decade approach at incredible speed, PepsiCo continues to stay ahead of the curve, always looking around the next corner, anticipating the next opportunity and then delivering innovative, high-quality products. Our ability to do this time and time again has been one of our strengths. Through our efforts at diversity and inclusion, we generate the kind of dynamic atmosphere and innovative spirit that can only come from richly diverse groups of employees.