PepsiCo India is anticipated to name George Kovoor, one of its highly experienced executives, as president. This move comes as the current president, Ahmed ElSheikh, is anticipated to transition to a global role within the American food and beverage company in the early part of next year, according to executives familiar with the situation.
“The leadership change is on the cards and likely to be announced in the coming months. It is just a matter of time,” one of the executives said, requesting not to be identified.
Kovoor, who serves as the senior vice-president and general manager of beverages at PepsiCo, has held this position since January 2022. With a three-decade-long history with the company, known for iconic brands like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Tropicana, Lays, and Doritos, he has undertaken diverse leadership roles in Asia-Pacific, China, and New York. After an 18-year stint abroad, he returned to India, taking on the additional responsibility of formulating the company’s long-term sustainability strategy for its Indian operations.
Prior to assuming his current position, he held the role of senior vice-president for International Away From Home at PepsiCo’s global headquarters in New York.
ElSheikh, who hails from Egypt, has been spearheading the operations of PepsiCo India since 2017. As the first expatriate entrusted with leading PepsiCo’s endeavors in India, he has played a pivotal role in the company’s strategic initiatives and operational success.
“Kovoor has been identified for the role to succeed ElSheikh, who is expected to move to a global role, and comes at a time when soft drinks and packaged foods are becoming intensely competitive businesses,” said a second executive. “There are newer, larger players such as Reliance Consumer, a slew of direct-to-consumer brands and, most importantly, the resurgence of smaller regional brands which are increasingly posing threats to national brands.”
In 2019, ElSheikh spearheaded the national refranchising initiative, transferring company-owned bottling operations in the southern and western regions to Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL), owned by Ravi Jaipuria. This strategic move aimed to harness synergies of scale and enhance operational productivity. Before this, VBL was already overseeing the franchise bottling of PepsiCo’s businesses in the northern and eastern regions.
As of the time of press, queries sent via email to PepsiCo have not received any responses.
For the fiscal year ending in March 2023, PepsiCo disclosed a revenue of INR 8,128 crore, marking a significant 29% year-on-year increase. The robust growth was driven by double-digit expansion across packaged foods and beverages, propelled by heightened out-of-home demand and a surge in rural demand, supported by growing electrification and distribution expansion efforts.
The corporation supplies concentrate to its bottling ally, VBL, which is in charge of bottling and producing the multinational’s soda beverages such as Pepsi, Sting, and Mountain Dew, as well as Tropicana juices and Aquafina water in India. VBL accounts for 90% of PepsiCo India’s beverage sales volume. Additionally, the publicly listed VBL holds franchise territory rights for Nepal, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.