Sanjeev Chada to make way for Manu Anand at PepsiCo India

Sanjeev Chadha was a founding member of the PepsiCo business in India and has played an important role in strengthening the company’s footprint in several countries. File photo: Anu Pushkarna

PepsiCo on Monday announced the appointment of Manu Anand as its new India-Head following the promotion of incumbent Chairman and CEO Sanjeev Chadha as chief of the global beverage and snacks giant’s Middle East and Africa operations with effect from January 1, 2011.

The company also appointed Varun Berry as the Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo’s foods business in India.

“PepsiCo today announced that Sanjeev Chadha, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo’s India Region, will take over as PepsiCo’s Chief for the Middle East and Africa, with effect from January 1, 2011,” PepsiCo India said in a statement. He will also be a member of the company’s global leadership team, the PepsiCo Executive Committee, it added.

“Sanjeev Chadha’s new area of responsibility — Middle East and Africa — is one of the largest and most profitable regions of PepsiCo and is headquartered in Dubai,” the statement said.

Mr. Chadha was a founding member of the PepsiCo business in India 20 years ago and has since played an important role in strengthening the company’s footprint in several countries. The current size and growth of the company has largely been attributed to his leadership. “In the last two years, India’s beverage and foods businesses have been the largest volume growth contributors to PepsiCo across the globe.”

Mr. Chadha also spent over a decade in Hong Kong, steering operations in the Asia-Pacific, before returning to India in 2007.

Talking about Mr. Anand, the company said he will move to India from Thailand, where he was PepsiCo’s CEO for South-East Asia and was responsible for the food and beverages business in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands.

“Manu Anand will succeed Sanjeev Chadha as Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo India Region... He has driven significant growth of their foods businesses across South East Asia, including the rapid expansion of snacks in Thailand, their snacks entry into the promising new market of Vietnam and innovative launches in Indonesia,” it added.

However, Mr. Anand is not new to India, one of PepsiCo’s fastest growing markets. He has been with the company for 16 years and was the chief architect behind the growth and success of PepsiCo’s food business in India.

“During his leadership, the business launched the iconic brand Kurkure, now the largest brand of salty snacks in the country, and Frito Lay was the fastest growing business of the decade,” the company said. He joined PepsiCo in 1994 as Chief Financial Officer for the foods business and took over as CEO in 1998.