PepsiCo chairperson and CEO Indra Nooyi has been appointed the International Cricket Council’s first independent female director.

The 62-year-old will join the ICC board in June following the unanimous confirmation of her appointment at a meeting on Friday, world cricket’s governing body announced. Nooyi was one of the shortlisted candidates put forward to the ICC’s nominations committee out of more than 100 applicants, all of whom were considered.

The introduction of the post of an independent female director was approved by the ICC in June last year as part of wide-ranging constitutional changes aimed at improving the global governance of the sport, a press release said.


The independent director will have full voting rights and will be appointed for a two-year term. Nooyi could be re-appointed for two further terms with a maximum six-year consecutive period of service.

According to the ICC’s recruitment process for the role, the successful candidate was “expected to have a genuine passion for and interest in the sport of cricket combined with recent and relevant experience at a senior level in a commercial, voluntary or public environment”.

“She must be independent of the ICC and during the term of her appointment must not hold any office or perform any executive or operational duties for any ICC Member or state, association or member of any Member,” the release had said.


“I love the game of cricket,” Nooyi was quoted as saying. “I played it as a teenager and in college, and to this day, I cherish the lessons the game taught me about teamwork, integrity, respect, and healthy competition. I am thrilled to join the ICC as the first person to be appointed to this role. And I look forward to working with my colleagues on the board, ICC’s incredible partners, and cricketers around the world to grow our sport responsibly and give our fans a new reason to follow every ball and shot.”

Nooyi has been consistently ranked by Fortune Magazine among the world’s most powerful women. She is currently responsible, at PepsiCo, for a global food and beverage portfolio that includes 22 brands generating more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales.

“We are delighted to welcome Indra to the ICC,” ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar said. “Adding another independent director – particularly a female – is such an important step forward in improving our governance. To have someone of Indra’s calibre is fantastic news for the global game – she is frequently recognised as one of the most influential people in business today, running one of the world’s biggest corporations.”

He added, “We undertook a global search looking for the right candidate who would complement the existing skills and experience already on our Board. A cricket enthusiast with experience in the commercial sector and independent of the ICC, any member or state or associated organisation were the primary criteria and in Indra we have found an exceptional new colleague and we look forward to working with her in the future.”