Chapter Three

INDRA NOOYI: PURPOSE

PepsiCo's corporate headquarters, situated on 150 landscaped acres in Purchase, New York, still show traces of the original design as a polo ground. The grounds and gardens are open to the public, but there remains an unmistakable air of privilege and prestige.

At the time of our conversation Indra Nooyi had been chairman and CEO of PepsiCo for nearly four years, but she took none of it for granted: not the beautiful setting, not the large corporate campus filled with art, and certainly not the position she occupies. “I have an immigrant mentality, which is that the job can be taken away at any time, so make sure you earn it every day,” Nooyi, who was born in India, explained. “When immigrants come here, they ...

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