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PepsiCo, Inc.

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)Founded 1965
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Leadership History

PepsiCo: CEO History

5 leaders · 1986 to present

Who is the CEO of PepsiCo?

Ramon Laguarta is the CEO of PepsiCo, in the role since 2018. The first chief executive was D. Wayne Calloway, from 1986.

Current CEO
Ramon Laguarta (since 2018)
First CEO
D. Wayne Calloway (1986)
Leaders documented
5
Founded
1965
NameRoleFromToYears in role
Ramon LaguartaChairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer2018Present8
Indra NooyiChief Executive Officer2006201812
Steven ReinemundChief Executive Officer200120065
Roger EnricoChief Executive Officer199620015
D. Wayne CallowayChief Executive Officer1986199610
Who was CEO of PepsiCo before Ramon Laguarta?
Indra Nooyi was CEO of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2018, before Ramon Laguarta took over in 2018.

Company Overview

PepsiCo is often seen as a soda company, but convenient foods supply more than half of its revenue. Frito-Lay, Quaker and international snack brands such as Walkers, Sabritas and Kurkure sit alongside Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Aquafina and SodaStream. The company sells in more than 200 countries and territories, with North America generating about 60% of net revenue. Since 2025 it has been under pressure from Elliott Investment Management, which disclosed a roughly $4 billion stake, to improve North American performance. The company is headquartered in Purchase, New York. PepsiCo traces its origin to Caleb Bradham creating Brad's Drink in 1893 in New Bern, North Carolina (renamed Pepsi-Cola in 1898), merging with Frito-Lay in 1965 in Purchase, New York, to form the modern global food, snack, and beverage titan.

Ramon Laguarta

Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer

2018 – Present

8 years (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

Laguarta accelerated PepsiCo's shift toward healthier snack options and zero-sugar beverages, optimized the North American bottling supply chain, and navigated massive inflationary pricing actions during the post-pandemic period.

Legacy

He sustained strong organic revenue growth and protected operating margins through historically challenging supply chain conditions, while committing the company to major sustainability and packaging reduction goals.

Source →

Indra Nooyi

Chief Executive Officer

2006 – 2018

12 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Nooyi championed the 'Performance with Purpose' strategy, acquired Quaker Oats and Tropicana, and aggressively expanded the portfolio of 'good-for-you' products away from traditional sugary sodas.

Legacy

Under her 12-year tenure as CEO, PepsiCo's revenue grew by more than 80%, and she fundamentally reshaped the company's identity from a junk-food purveyor to a diversified global food and beverage giant.

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Steven Reinemund

Chief Executive Officer

2001 – 2006

5 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Reinemund oversaw the integration of the $13.4 billion Quaker Oats acquisition, capturing immense synergies and dominating the sports drink market through Gatorade.

Legacy

He oversaw significant international expansion and revenue growth, setting a strong operational foundation before handing leadership to Nooyi.

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Roger Enrico

Chief Executive Officer

1996 – 2001

5 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Enrico spun off PepsiCo's massive restaurant division (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell) into Tricon Global Restaurants (now Yum! Brands) and acquired Tropicana to focus exclusively on packaged food and beverages.

Legacy

He dramatically simplified the company's structure, allowing it to focus resources on its core grocery and convenience store distribution networks.

Source →

D. Wayne Calloway

Chief Executive Officer

1986 – 1996

10 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Calloway expanded the company's snack food dominance through Frito-Lay and pushed aggressively into international markets while battling Coca-Cola during the peak of the 'Cola Wars'.

Legacy

He more than doubled PepsiCo's revenues during his tenure and heavily invested in the restaurant division before it was later spun off.

Source →

Challenges & Strategic Context

PepsiCo's main challenges in 2025-2026 are weak North American volumes after several years of price increases, softer convenience-store traffic as US gas prices rose in 2026, consumer shifts toward healthier and functional products (including the effect of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs), beverage share losses to Coca-Cola and energy brands, commodity and packaging costs, and pressure from activist investor Elliott to lift margins. Management said in July 2026 that North American improvement would be more gradual than planned.

PepsiCo CEO and Leadership FAQ

Who is Ramon Laguarta and what is his leadership record as CEO of PepsiCo?

Ramon Laguarta became CEO of PepsiCo in October 2018 and Chairman in 2019. He launched pep+, bought Rockstar Energy and Pioneer Foods (2020), Siete and poppi (2025), and in December 2025 agreed a cost and pricing reset backed by Elliott Investment Management.

Who was Indra Nooyi and what was her transformative impact as CEO of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2018?

Indra Nooyi was CEO from 2006 to 2018. She introduced "Performance with Purpose," shifted the portfolio toward healthier products, resisted Trian's 2013-2015 push to split the company, and agreed the SodaStream acquisition in 2018.

Who was Donald Kendall and what was his founding leadership role at PepsiCo?

Donald M. Kendall served as CEO of Pepsi-Cola and founded the modern PepsiCo in 1965 by executing the historic merger with Herman Lay's Frito-Lay. Kendall was famous for opening the Soviet Union to Pepsi in 1972 (becoming the first Western consumer product sold in the USSR) and leading the 'Pepsi Challenge' marketing era.

Who was Wayne Calloway and what did he achieve as CEO from 1986 to 1996?

Wayne Calloway served as CEO of PepsiCo from 1986 to 1996, overseeing a decade of rapid expansion across international snack markets, scaling Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut under PepsiCo's restaurant division before their spinoff into Tricon Global Restaurants (Yum! Brands).

Who was Roger Enrico and what was his contribution to PepsiCo's corporate history?

Roger Enrico served as CEO from 1996 to 2001. A master marketer who spearheaded the 1980s 'Pepsi Generation' and celebrity Michael Jackson ad campaigns, Enrico orchestrated the spinoff of PepsiCo's restaurant division (Yum! Brands) in 1997 and the historic $13.4 billion acquisition of Quaker Oats in 2001.

Who was Steve Reinemund and what was his tenure as CEO from 2001 to 2006?

Steve Reinemund served as CEO from 2001 to 2006, successfully integrating Quaker Oats and Gatorade, expanding health-conscious snack choices, growing international revenues, and laying the strategic foundation for Indra Nooyi's subsequent leadership.

Who are the key executive leaders supporting Ramon Laguarta today?

Steve Schmitt is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and presents PepsiCo's quarterly results alongside Ramon Laguarta.

What is Ramon Laguarta's core management philosophy of 'Faster, Stronger, Better'?

Ramon Laguarta structured PepsiCo around three operational imperatives: Be Faster (winning in the marketplace through consumer-centric agility), Be Stronger (transforming cost capabilities through automation and digitization), and Be Better (embedding sustainability through pep+ into all corporate operations).

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.