The FINANCIAL — Michael White, a top PepsiCo (PEP Quote) executive, is retiring by year-end from the food-and-beverage company. White will also leave his seat on the PepsiCo board of directors when he retires, which is the company's practice.
Zein Abdalla, who will become CEO of PepsiCo Europe, and Saad Abdul-Latif, who will become CEO of PepsiCo Asia, Middle East, Africa, have been tapped to assume White's duties, AP reported.
PepsiCo’s international unit, which accounted for more than a quarter of sales last year, has become increasingly important as U.S. soft drink sales have declined, Bloomberg gives information. Under White’s leadership, it has taken its popular snack brands and tailored them to local tastes in developing markets to boost sales.
In a statement, Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman and CEO, said, "Close to a year ago, Mike shared with me his interest in eventually moving on to 'the next chapter' of his life. Since then we have been working together to ensure a smooth and orderly transition, according to AP. Our current international structure reflects that planning, so we're well prepared for this change."
White, 57, joined the Purchase, New York-based company in 1990 as the vice president of planning for Frito-Lay North America and rose to chief financial officer of PepsiCo before becoming vice chairman in November 2007, Bloomberg reported. Since February 2003, he has served as chairman and chief executive of PepsiCo International.
PepsiCo confirmed White's departure, reported Saturday by The Wall Street Journal.
White said in an interview that he will remain at PepsiCo until the end of November or December but that PepsiCo "will be well prepared" to integrate the bottlers when the deal closes, probably early next year, The Wall Street Journal gives information.
Nooyi credited White with helping boost PepsiCo’s international business to sales of almost $20 billion, up from less than $8 billion in 2003, Bloomberg reported. Including PepsiCo’s Latin America beverage business, overseas sales totaled 48 percent of revenue in 2008.
PepsiCo last month agreed to buy Amacoco Nordeste Ltda. and Amacoco Sudeste Ltda., Brazil’s largest coconut water company, as it seeks to expand its reach in Latin America, according to the same source. It also agreed to buy Peruvian corn-chip maker Karinto S.A.C. in April and Brazilian snack company Comercio de Doces Lucky Ltda. in 2007.
John Sicher, editor and publisher of the trade publication Beverage Digest, said news of White's planned departure came as little surprise, AP reported. "It had been rumored in the industry," he said. "I think Mike does want to run his own company someday. I think that as good as he is, PepsiCo will not miss a beat."Nooyi, then the chief financial officer, was elevated to CEO in August 2006 ahead of White.
Asked why White may have been passed over earlier for the top job at PepsiCo, Sicher said, "It's not that he was passed over … though Mike White is very talented, Indra was the likely successor" because "she's very smart, she's very strategic," according to the same source. PepsiCo, second only to Coca-Cola Co. reported in July its second-quarter profit and sales dropped slightly as consumers continued limiting their purchases of soft drinks but bought more snacks as the company promoted larger bags of chips. PepsiCo brands include Frito-Lay chips and Quaker cereals as well as Gatorade and Tropicana drinks.
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