Indra K. Nooyi will step down as the chief executive of PepsiCo this year, the drinks and snacks giant said on Monday, ending a 12-year run as its leader and one of the most senior women in international business.
Ms. Nooyi, 62, is to be replaced on Oct. 3 by PepsiCo’s president, Ramon Laguarta, a 22-year veteran of the company.
She presided over a significant expansion of PepsiCo’s business, with revenue growing to $63.5 billion last year, from $35 billion in 2006, while the company’s share price has nearly doubled to $116.30. Her time at the helm of the company was characterized by a focus on shifting it from the sugary soft drinks it became known for, which were less and less profitable.
Under Ms. Nooyi, PepsiCo diversified its mix of products to include more healthful options, including baked chips; water brands like Lifewtr and Bubly; and its recent acquisition of Bare Foods, a maker of baked fruit and vegetable snacks. Since 2006, the percentage of revenue coming from healthier food and beverages at PepsiCo has climbed to 50 percent, from 38 percent.
Born in Chennai, in southern India, Ms. Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 and held a series of strategy roles before becoming its chief financial officer in 2000. She took over as chief executive in October 2006.
Ms. Nooyi was notable for her willingness to speak on political issues. A public supporter of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign, she said soon after the election that she found herself having to “answer a lot of questions, from my daughters, from my employees — they were all in mourning.”
She also saw off a campaign by the billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz to break up PepsiCo, agreeing in 2015 to appoint an adviser to Mr. Peltz’s investment firm to the company’s board of directors. Mr. Peltz had asserted that investors would benefit if PepsiCo spun off its beverages unit from its better-performing snacks business.
Ms. Nooyi is the latest in a series of female chief executives who have recently left major businesses. The number of women leading Fortune 500 companies has fallen 25 percent this year, a shift experts say is tied not only to the choices of individual executives, but also to a wider work culture that is biased against women in the workplace.
Mr. Laguarta’s appointment continues a tradition of PepsiCo finding leaders from within its ranks. A native of Barcelona, Spain, Mr. Laguarta, 54, was previously the head of the company’s operations in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, and before that president of its Eastern Europe division.
Amie Tsang and Julie Creswell contributed reporting.
