Elevating Aspirations at PepsiCo

Over the years, in varied roles, PepsiCo has benefited from CEO Indra Nooyi’s many strengths, including her strategic thinking, creativity, and passion. However, it may eventually turn out that her greatest contribution will be the call to PepsiCo employees to connect with their higher motives. Nooyi is probably more keenly aware than most U.S. CEOs that discussing “corporate executives” and “higher motives” can be met with skepticism around the globe. In Europe, public trust in institutions such as nongovernmental organizations is at 48 percent,
while trust in businesses is at 32 percent. Measuring the credibility of
spokespersons in the United States reveals that an academic garners the high score of 43 percent, while a CEO registers at less than 15 percent.

In the face of this challenge, Nooyi has put forth a vision of using “corporations as productive players in addressing some of the big issues facing the world.” Soon after being named CEO, she rolled out her leadership banner “Performance with Purpose.” These sets of operating principles and programs are offering PepsiCo’s leaders the opportunity to work to achieve an integrated life, and many of them are seizing it.