The industry is buzzing with chatter around who will become the new president and CEO of food and beverages major PepsiCo’s India operations. Speculations have run wild around who will be named PepsiCo India’s top boss after expat chief Ahmed ElSheikh moves on. ElSheikh, who is the current president, is expected to shift to a global post this year. He joined the Indian operations in 2017 and is the first expat to lead PepsiCo India.
The candidates for the top job at PepsiCo India include George Kovoor and Jagrut Kotecha, as per ET reports. PepsiCo owns iconic food and beverage brands like the flagship Pepsi, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Tropicana, Lay’s and Doritos. Take a look at the candidates singled out so far.
George Kovoor
After eighteen years in global markets, George Kovoor returned to India in 2022 as senior vice-president and general manager, beverages at PepsiCo India. He was serving as a senior VP at PepsiCo’s global headquarters in New York before relocating to India. Kovoor is an old PepsiCo hand with three decades spent in various roles across PepsiCo brands and in various leadership operating roles in Asia-Pacific, China and the US. Kovoor’s current mandate also includes the company’s long-term sustainability strategy for the India business. He started his career in 1988 as a management trainee and area manager for Brooke Bond India Ltd (Unilever). Kovoor got his management degree at the Asian Institute of Management. He went to Madras Christian College after Don Bosco Egmore High School.
In July 2022, Kovoor gave PepsiCo’s creative advertising mandate to Publicis Groupe ad agency Leo Burnett, after a large multi-agency pitch and many years with WPP-owned agency Wunderman Thompson (JWT). The shift was part of a global realignment. He said at the time, “At PepsiCo India, our aim is to create innovative and purposeful consumer campaigns that help us engage effectively with our consumers. With an intent to further accelerate our marketing efforts, we are delighted to welcome Leo Burnett as our new creative agency. Their strategic thinking along with robust creative and marketing capabilities make them the right partners for our next phase of growth.”
Kovoor has been running PepsiCo’s sustainability agenda with the intent to create a positive value chain in line with the Indian Government’s ambitions to promote a circular economy.
Jagrut Kotecha
Jagrut Kotecha is PepsiCo’s senior vice president and chief commercial officer for AMESA (Africa, Middle East and South Asia regions). As per the report, it is Kotecha’s extensive experience in the snacks business that makes him the top candidate for the job. Kotecha is an experienced sales, brand and Country Manager with end-to-end P&L responsibility. He is a commercial digital transformation and business transformation leader with experience in markets across Asia, Middle East and Africa. In 2018, when Kotecha was vice president for PepsiCo India’s snacking category, he oversaw the innovations and transformations of Lay’s and Kurkure to make them better suit Indian tastes and preferences. He also led the launch of India-made Doritos in 2017.
Kotecha started his career in 1992 with Cadbury and moved to PepsiCo India in sales and marketing in 1994. Kotecha has an MBA from SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) and a B.E Chemical Engineering from the University of Mumbai.
In April 2023, PepsiCo in Africa, Middle East and South Asia (AMESA) partnered with the PepsiCo Foundation – the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo, to launch the ‘Filling Hearts Outside the Box’ program, pledging over 3 million meals to people in need across Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE throughout the Holy Month of Ramadan. As part of the PepsiCo Foundation’s ‘Food for Good’ platform, aimed at advancing food security and making nutritious meals accessible, PepsiCo AMESA identified vulnerable segments across the region and collaborated with local partners, to provide food assistance and targeted meal delivery.