Rajeev Bakshi quits PepsiCo
Rajeev Bakshi, PepsiCo Asia-Pacific’s commercial operations head based in Hong Kong, who was PepsiCo India Holdings chairman till a year ago, has quit the soft drink major and is on his way back to India.
By Ratna Bhushan, TNN |
NEW DELHI: Rajeev Bakshi, PepsiCo Asia-Pacific’s commercial operations head based in Hong Kong, who was PepsiCo India Holdings chairman till a year ago, has quit the soft drink major and is on his way back to India. This was Mr Bakshi’s first overseas stint in the PepsiCo system.
When contacted by ET, Mr Bakshi confirmed his exit, and added, “I am quitting for intensely personal reasons.” He declined to divulge where he would be headed, but a source indicated that he has a few options that he is considering. “He is yet to decide on his new assignment,” the source said.
Mr Bakshi’s resignation comes just a few days after PepsiCo announced a large-scale restructuring of its Asia-Pacific operations, involving splitting its India and China operations into two independent divisions. The restructuring will come into effect from January 1, 2008, as part of which the India region will be spun off into a new unit called South Asia Middle East Africa (SAMEA).
The other division will include Hong Kong, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. “Post-restructuring, Mr Bakshi’s role would have been curtailed, which triggered his exit. In any case he’s a hard core operations man and his current job was more of a support function,” the source added.
Last November, just a month after Indra Nooyi formally took over as the global chief of PepsiCo Inc, Mr Bakshi relocated to Hong Kong on a parallel posting. He was made in-charge of business development, innovation and sales. He was replaced by Sanjeev Chadha, another PepsiCo veteran.
Mr Bakshi joined PepsiCo in 2001 after the incumbent chairman PM Sinha retired. He was in-charge of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He saw the company through the pesticide controversy. Before joining PepsiCo, Mr Bakshi was with Cadbury India for about a decade, eight of which he spent as VP - marketing and sales, and the rest as managing director.
Later, he was appointed the MD of Cadbury South Africa. Mr Bakshi had begun his career with Lakme. “He has a great mind but he’s not-so-great when it comes to managing people” is how people who have worked with Mr Bakshi described him.
When contacted by ET, Mr Bakshi confirmed his exit, and added, “I am quitting for intensely personal reasons.” He declined to divulge where he would be headed, but a source indicated that he has a few options that he is considering. “He is yet to decide on his new assignment,” the source said.
Mr Bakshi’s resignation comes just a few days after PepsiCo announced a large-scale restructuring of its Asia-Pacific operations, involving splitting its India and China operations into two independent divisions. The restructuring will come into effect from January 1, 2008, as part of which the India region will be spun off into a new unit called South Asia Middle East Africa (SAMEA).
The other division will include Hong Kong, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. “Post-restructuring, Mr Bakshi’s role would have been curtailed, which triggered his exit. In any case he’s a hard core operations man and his current job was more of a support function,” the source added.
Last November, just a month after Indra Nooyi formally took over as the global chief of PepsiCo Inc, Mr Bakshi relocated to Hong Kong on a parallel posting. He was made in-charge of business development, innovation and sales. He was replaced by Sanjeev Chadha, another PepsiCo veteran.
Mr Bakshi joined PepsiCo in 2001 after the incumbent chairman PM Sinha retired. He was in-charge of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He saw the company through the pesticide controversy. Before joining PepsiCo, Mr Bakshi was with Cadbury India for about a decade, eight of which he spent as VP - marketing and sales, and the rest as managing director.
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Later, he was appointed the MD of Cadbury South Africa. Mr Bakshi had begun his career with Lakme. “He has a great mind but he’s not-so-great when it comes to managing people” is how people who have worked with Mr Bakshi described him.
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