Laxman Narasimhan

Laxman previously served as the CEO of PepsiCo Latin America (LatAm), and Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA). He assumed the ESSA role in September 2017, with responsibility for delivering sustainable growth and financial performance of a geography that covers over 100 countries and over 45,000 people. He became CEO of PepsiCo LatAm in 2015, leading the company’s food and beverage businesses for Mexico, South America, Central America and the Caribbean, with full P&L responsibility over $7 billion in annual net revenue and 70,000 people. He has been a member of the PepsiCo Executive Committee for the last four years.

Prior to this role, Laxman was the SVP and CFO of the PepsiCo Foods business across North America and Latin America— PepsiCo’s largest sector, comprising 36 countries, over $26 billion in net revenues, and half the profitability of the company. The sector included Frito-Lay North America, Quaker North America and Latin America Foods divisions. In this role, he partnered closely with the Sector CEO to allocate capital, set and deliver performance targets, and build capability. Under his leadership as CFO, PepsiCo Americas Foods delivered strong growth, profitability and returns on capital.

Prior to joining PepsiCo, he served as the Director and Delhi Location Manager for the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company. There, he oversaw consumer-facing industries in India, spearheaded McKinsey’s research on the emerging-market digital consumer, co-led McKinsey’s

Global Consumer and Shopper Insights Practice and its Global Retail Knowledge Council. His nearly two decades at McKinsey across Cleveland, Tokyo, Toronto, Silicon Valley and New Delhi provided him with the opportunity to fill a wide array of roles across three continents, adapting to a myriad of cultures and expectations while gaining expertise in multiple industries, including consumer, retail, technology, energy, consumer financial services, manufacturing, consumer health and health care. With an interest in global affairs and a desire to improve educational opportunities, he led several public sector initiatives at McKinsey in India with the government, focusing primarily on education and skill-building.

Laxman is a trustee of The Brookings Institution, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a board member of the Latin America Conservation Council and of the US India Strategic Policy Forum. He earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and was designated a Palmer Scholar and J.N. Tata Scholar. He also holds an MA in German and International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania’s Lauder Institute, with support from the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with distinction from the University of Pune in India. He speaks English, German, three Indian languages and conversational Spanish.

He and his wife, Vidhya, have two children and live in Greenwich, Connecticut.