Nooyi was wooed in style, reveals Chris Sinclair
“We zeroed in on Indra after a thorough search process,” says Christopher Sinclair, former chairman and CEO, Pepsi Cola Company.
By Dibeyendu Ganguly, TNN |
MUMBAI: So you always thought of job interviews as stressful ordeals where a bunch of hard-nosed senior executives set out to endlessly grill you? Not so if you’re an exceptionally talented candidate like Indra Nooyi. PepsiCo’s top management team was already convinced they wanted the high-flying Chennai-born executive on board, even before they formally met her in New York. It was then a question of how they could woo her away from ABB, the company she was then working for.
“We zeroed in on Indra after a thorough search process,” says Christopher Sinclair, former chairman and CEO, Pepsi Cola Company, who was one of the panellists at the interview. “She was one of the smartest candidates we had met. The interview was mostly about finding out what she wanted and persuading her to join us.”
Indeed, Mr Sinclair himself played a key role in wooing Ms Nooyi over. The then CEO of PepsiCo International was responsible for the company’s India foray and knew the country well. Besides, Mr Sinclair had spent most of his childhood in India, where his father was posted as the country head for Exxon Mobil, and most of his schooling was at the International School, Kodaikanal. “Indra and I connected because of that and I used it to sell her the job,” says Mr Sinclair, with a smile.
As the chairman of Pepsi Cola, the group’s cola operation, Mr Sinclair was one of the three candidates in running for the top job of PepsiCo chairman & CEO when incumbent Wayne Callaway retired in 1996. The job ultimately went to Roger Enrico and Mr Sinclair, then 46, resigned and joined a private equity firm. Today, Ms Nooyi is set to take over the top job that eluded him. How does he feel? “I was young and quick to pull the trigger then. However, I have no regrets and bear no ill will towards PepsiCo,” he says.
Mr Sinclair has remained friends with Ms Nooyi — they live on the same street in Greenwich, Connecticut — and plays golf with her husband Raj. “She’s an exceedingly smart, genuine person, with a strong point of view. She deserves what she has got.”
Ms Nooyi has been quoted as saying that as a woman, an immigrant and a person of colour, the odds were stacked against her in the largely male-dominated world of corporate management. Will he agree? “I will say these prejudices are at best residual in a global company like PepsiCo,” says Mr Sinclair. “Since the late 80s, PepsiCo has created a global talent pool, which is now one of its greatest strengths. I was part of that multinational talent pool too.”
“We zeroed in on Indra after a thorough search process,” says Christopher Sinclair, former chairman and CEO, Pepsi Cola Company, who was one of the panellists at the interview. “She was one of the smartest candidates we had met. The interview was mostly about finding out what she wanted and persuading her to join us.”
Indeed, Mr Sinclair himself played a key role in wooing Ms Nooyi over. The then CEO of PepsiCo International was responsible for the company’s India foray and knew the country well. Besides, Mr Sinclair had spent most of his childhood in India, where his father was posted as the country head for Exxon Mobil, and most of his schooling was at the International School, Kodaikanal. “Indra and I connected because of that and I used it to sell her the job,” says Mr Sinclair, with a smile.
As the chairman of Pepsi Cola, the group’s cola operation, Mr Sinclair was one of the three candidates in running for the top job of PepsiCo chairman & CEO when incumbent Wayne Callaway retired in 1996. The job ultimately went to Roger Enrico and Mr Sinclair, then 46, resigned and joined a private equity firm. Today, Ms Nooyi is set to take over the top job that eluded him. How does he feel? “I was young and quick to pull the trigger then. However, I have no regrets and bear no ill will towards PepsiCo,” he says.
Mr Sinclair has remained friends with Ms Nooyi — they live on the same street in Greenwich, Connecticut — and plays golf with her husband Raj. “She’s an exceedingly smart, genuine person, with a strong point of view. She deserves what she has got.”
Ms Nooyi has been quoted as saying that as a woman, an immigrant and a person of colour, the odds were stacked against her in the largely male-dominated world of corporate management. Will he agree? “I will say these prejudices are at best residual in a global company like PepsiCo,” says Mr Sinclair. “Since the late 80s, PepsiCo has created a global talent pool, which is now one of its greatest strengths. I was part of that multinational talent pool too.”
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