Jane Wakely Joins PepsiCo as CMO; Ram Krishnan Named CEO, Int’l & CCO
Jane Wakely will join PepsiCo as executive VP, chief consumer and marketing officer and chief growth officer, international foods, while Ram Krishnan has been named CEO, international beverages and chief commercial officer, a new role for the company.
Most recently lead CMO and CMO of pet nutrition at Mars, Wakely will oversee PepsiCo's consumer-centricity, innovation, brand and marketing capabilities. She’ll be tasked with accelerating the Positive Choices pillar of Pep+, including entering healthier and more environmentally friendly categories.
Wakely spent two decades at Mars, serving in such roles as VP of marketing and innovation, European food, and chief marketing officer, global chocolate. Prior to Mars, she spent eight years at Procter & Gamble, including in beauty care division.
She'll join the company early next year, according to a LinkedIn post by Wakely.
[See also: PepsiCo Cuts Through Healthy Snack Noise]
Krishnan’s role is a new one for the No. 3 consumer goods company. In addition to holding responsibility for PepsiCo’s international beverages business and international franchise bottlers, he’ll also be tasked with driving growth of the SodaStream and Beyond the Bottle businesses, as well as accelerating the Pepsi Lipton joint venture with Unilever.
The company seeks to unify its beverage and commercial capabilities into a single group to better optimize its end-to-end operating model, capital allocations and new capabilities.
Krishnan, who’s been with the company for 15 years, will also continue to oversee the company's e-commerce business and global commercial capabilities. His new role takes effect Jan. 1, 2022,
[See also: PepsiCo Opening Digital Hubs To Create Global Digital Delivery Network]
Both Wakely and Krishnan report to Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo chairman and CEO. In a statement announcing the news, Laguarta described Wakely as a creative and commercially-oriented marketer, while Krishnan was cited as having been an effective leader for the company's commercial agenda.
"[Wakely] has a proven track record of success, and I am confident that with her leadership, we will take our consumer-centricity, innovation, brand and marketing strategies and capabilities, and International Foods growth to a new level," he noted, adding that Krishnan will bring focus and a formula for success to accelerate growth in the international beverages business.
