Indra Nooyi is Yale's biggest donor alumna
The Yale School of Management will name its deanship after its Indian born alumna, Indra Nooyi, after she gifted an undisclosed sum of money to her alma mater. The donation has made her Yale's biggest alumni donor, and also the first woman to endow a deanship at the prestigious institution. The donation will also go toward inaugurating an 'innovation fund' at Yale's management school.
Who is Indra Nooyi?
Indra Nooyi is an Indian-born, naturalized US citizen who lives in Greenwich, Connecticut and is the current Chairperson and CEO of PepsiCo. She was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in 1955 and has two daughters. Forbes has ranked her #15 in their 2015 Worlds Most Powerful Women list. As of 2015, her net worth is estimated to be $144 million.
The long road to success
Indra Nooyi did her her schooling and graduation in Chennai, getting her Bachelor's degree in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics from Madras Christian College in 1974. She went on to get her Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM, Calcutta in 1976. Nooyi began her carrer working as a product manager with Johnson and Johnson and textile firm Mettur Beardsell.
Yale and an American success story
Nooyi attended Yale School of Management in 1978, completing a master's degree in Public and Private Management. Soon after, she began directing international corporate strategy projects at Boston Consulting Group. In 1986, she joined Motorola and by 1990, became Vice President and Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning. In 1990, she joined Asea Brown Boveri handling $10 billion of ABB's $30 billion global sales.
Climbing the corporate ladder at PepsiCo
Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development. In 1996, she became PepsiCo's Chief Financial Officer and by 2001, was named President of PepsiCo and was appointed to PepsiCo's board of directors. In October 2006, Nooyi was appointed as the CEO of PepsiCo and in May 2007, assumed the role of Chairman of PepsiCo's board of directors.
Awards and accolades
Forbes has ranked Nooyi on the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 lists of The World's Most powerful Women. She serves as a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, and has previously also served as the Chairperson of the US-India Business Council.
Work at PepsiCo
Nooyi has been credited as the chief architect of PepsiCo's multi-year growth project, Performance with Purpose. She led PepsiCo's restructuring, including the divestiture of its restaurants into the successful YUM! Brands, Inc. Nooyi is also credited with securing PepsiCo's acquisition of Quaker Oats and Tropicana, two vital business segments. By 2014, Nooyi's compensation at PepsiCo stood at $19,087,832, including $5.5 million of equity compensation.
Always mix work and pleasure
Nooyi was known to sing at her corporate offices and keep a karaoke machine at home. "You must have fun in whatever you do. Your work takes up so much of your life that if you're not having fun, what's the point in it?" - Indra Nooyi
