Roger Enrico announces retirement from PepsiCo

PepsiCo has, indeed, done very well under his astute leadership and yesterday saw one more achievement in his career with the company. The company had recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit year-on-year gains, with a 17 per cent improvement in earnings.

But what created more news than the superlative financial performance of the company, was his announcement that he plans to step down as chief executive of the group by the end of next year, and as chairman by end of 2002. He followed up this announcement by stating that his current number-two, Mr. Steve Reinemund, PepsiCo's president will succeed him to lead the company into the next millennium. In keeping with his company's slogan, he had handed over the baton to generation next.

Born into and brought up in a blue-collar family in Minnesota's industrial north, this wanderlust youth graduated in finance in 1965. After a very brief stint in the human resources department of General Mills, he volunteered to serve in Vietnam. Back in the country in 1971, he found himself a job with Frito-Lay, a company that PepsiCo acquired. During his stint with the company, he moved up quickly to manage PepsiCo in Japan and Brazil. His performance pleased the US company's board, which elected him to the post of president in 1983.

His non-conformist and flamboyant style irked the board on several occasions, with such decisions as the Michael Jackson commercial and his ill-fated tryst with writing when he authored a book The Other Guy Blinked, about Coca Cola's "New Coke" disaster. After a mild heart attack slowed him down for a few years, he was back in the thick of things, when the former chairman, late Mr. Wayne Calloway, called him in to take over as chief executive, a position, he claims, he "never hungered for".

Mr. Enrico stepped in to lead PepsiCo in 1996, after the company had been battered by seven consecutive quarters of disappointing results in 1994 and 1995. He quickly took charge, abandoned costly yet unproductive efforts to go head to head with Coke in South America and, instead, turned PepsiCo's attentions to countries where Coke was less entrenched and Pepsi could better compete. He also orchestrated a barrage of complaints to overseas regulators about Coke's marketing practices, setting off the many numerous antitrust investigations that now besiege its rival.

The company has thrived under his leadership as he resolutely went on focussing on snack foods. Rather than bait arch-rival, Coca Cola, at every turn, he took a stand of nipping at its market share only where possible. Snack food sales now account for two-thirds of the company's total revenues with the balance being accounted for by beverages. He went about restructuring the company, in tune with this focus. He sold off PepsiCo's bottling and restaurant businesses (which included Pizza Hut) and bought Tropicana juices from Seagrams.