D Shivakumar joins Pepsico as chairman and CEO for India

PepsiCo India has roped in D Shivakumar as chairman and CEO, India region. Shivakumar takes charge immediately and his mandate includes food and beverage brands such as Pepsi, Lay's, Slice, Kurkure, Tropicana and Quaker oats, as well as the NourishCo joint venture with Tata Global Beverages and franchise businesses in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The company has also announced that Gautham Mukkavilli, currently general manager, PepsiCo India Beverages, has been named SVP, business transformation - AMEA, effective 1 March 2014. Both Shivakumar and Mukkavilli will report to Sanjeev Chadha, CEO,  PepsiCo AMEA.

On the appointments, Chadha said, "“I’m thrilled to have two leaders of Shiv and Gautham’s stature playing key roles in driving PepsiCo’s business forward in AMEA. Both men embody the passion and excellence that will strengthen AMEA’s position as the growth engine of PepsiCo as they bring their unique skills to bear in their respective roles. Shiv is a natural leader. He is known to be a great coach and mentor who inspires people to do their best and overcome challenges with a smile on their face.”

Shivakumar joins PepsiCo after a long stint at Nokia. He has also worked with Hindustan Unilever and Philips Consumer Electronics India.

On his move, Shivakumar said, "PepsiCo is one of the world’s most innovative, respected and successful companies. I love the PepsiCo team’s passion to win, its strong values, and the philosophy of ‘Performance with Purpose’. I am thrilled to carry on the tradition of excellence, excitement and purpose that PepsiCo’s extremely talented team has established – I am looking forward to working with those team members, and helping them achieve many more milestones to be proud of in the years to come.”