Indra K. Nooyi

From the land of idly, sambar to the land of dreams, Indra Nooyi has come a long way to prove herself. As President and Chief Financial Officer of PepsiCo, she has been ranked by Fortune Magazine, as one of the most powerful women in American business. She is the highest-ranking Indian born woman in corporate America and one of its brightest lights and her meteoric rise began in India, moving from the East to achieve today's brilliance in the West.

Indra K. Nooyi

Born in Chennai, India, Ms. Nooyi credits her middle-class Hindu family life for establishing her habits of discipline and hard work and especially for her commitment to education. She received her B.Sc. degree from Madras Christian College and pursued MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta. Her career began as a product manager at Johnson & Johnson and Mettur Beardsell Ltd., a textile firm, in India. She immigrated to the United States in 1978 to attend to the Yale University for a Master's Degree in public and private management; however, she worked as a receptionist from midnight to 5 a.m. in order to support herself the way many Indians do.

The qualities, which distinguished her successful leadership style, were cultivated by liberal arts education. Her intelligence and analytical ability, recognized by the Boston Consulting Group (her first corporate employer after Yale), led to ever increasing responsibility for corporate strategy and planning, next as Vice President at Motorola Incorporated and then at Asea Brown Boveri. In 1994 she joined PepsiCo, assisting Roger Enrico in an in-depth economic analysis, which led to the divestiture, and acquisitions, which are widely credited to have transformed PepsiCo for the 21st century.

Indra Nooyi focuses for the upliftment of human potential, her own and that of others. She says of PepsiCo: "We see people for what they might be and give them the tools to get there". In February 2001 Indra Nooyi was awarded the Hunt Scanlon Human Capital Advantage Award “for excellence in human capital management and her ability to recognize the intrinsic value of human capital”. Her commitment to developing people, renewal of herself and the people who are part of her corporate family, is an outstanding example of lifelong learning.

She travels extensively to educate and encourage the next generation of corporate leaders. One can learn, she says, "from books, computers, movies, even television. But don't stop there. The greatest learning comes when you leave the comfort of your chair. There's nothing like experiencing new things, hearing different perspectives and seeing the world". Not only does she advocate going out to see the world, she has also brought the world to the corporate table.

Balancing the many dimensions of a rich life is a major goal and an important quality of Indra Nooyi's life. While in college, Indra played guitar (lead) for an All-girl rock band and today still plays the electric guitar and listens to rock and roll and jazz music. According to Business Week magazine, "her promotion to President of PepsiCo is a testament to her ability to balance a high-powered career with a family and her Hindu heritage". Married and the mother of two teenage daughters, her lifestyle, both personal and professional, are of East and West. Like other religious Hindu homes, hers has a puja room, which is used frequently. She often advices new managers that a combination of prayer and planning, with heavy emphasis on the latter, are essential to successful corporate leadership.

Numerous achievements

She is a trustee of the Yale Corporation.

She has served on the President's Council on international activities of the Yale University.

Member of the Board of the International Rescue Committee and the Board of trustees of the Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts in New York City.

She has been a member of the Board of Trustees for Convent of the Sacred Heart School and serves on the advisory board of the Greenwich Breast Cancer Alliance.

She is a member of the Board of Motorola as well as a director of PepsiCo.

Indra Nooyi has combined a successful liberal arts education and career. She has shown a commitment to the value and dignity of all persons. She has proved the importance of faith and family to a successful career life. Today, she exhibits a creative and responsible corporate leadership in an alien land. She richly deserves the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa conferred on her by the College of New Rochelle.