Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi

Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi was born on October 28, 1955 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Madras Christian College in 1974; her Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Indian Institute of Management Studies (Calcutta), and her Masters Degree in Management from Yale School of Management.

She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut with her husband Raj, a software engineer and two daughters Pritha and Tara.

Before joining PepsiCo in 1994 as Senior Vice-President of Corporate Strategy and Development, she worked with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Motorola and ABB.

She was promoted as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and later elected as the Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PepsiCo on October 1, 2006; a successor of Steve Reinemund.

She played a prominent role in the acquisition of Tropicana; company's merger with Quaker; and the deal of YUM Brands; the parent company of fast food properties like Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC.

As of date, she is the only Indian woman to become the Chief Executive Officer of the more $25 billion multinational company.

She was listed on Wall Street Journal's "50 Women to watch in 2005".

Fortune magazine named her No 1 "Most Powerful Woman in Business" in 2006 and 2007.

According to the polls conducted by Forbes magazine in 2007, she ranked fifth on the list of "the world's 100 most powerful women".

In 2007, she was awarded Padma Bhushan by Government of India.

Time's listed her among "100 Most Influential People in the world" in 2007 and 2008.

She is a member of "Bilderberg group" which is a highly secretive group.

She is a member of the Boards of the Lincoln Center for the performing Arts in the New York City.

Her success mantra in life is, "there are no limits to what you can do", she added, "Success isn't money, prestige, or power because net worth can never define self worth. True success is being happy with yourself, is being fulfilled and that comes from devoting your time, your life, to doing what love the most".

She believes, "What's important is trying to be the best and working to get there. And that's how you fulfill your potential", she elaborated, "Never stop leaning. It's a multi-cultural world out there and we all have to interact with people who are different...... success comes with reaching out integrating with the community...... and giving back to the communities and neighborhoods, more than what you took out of them. Hence, keep an open mind".

Finally she explained that the three critical pillars of success are, "family, friends and faith", she said, "when things look bleak and uncertain, it's your family, friends and faith that pull you through....And when I'm wrestling with change in my life, good or bad, the first place I turn to, is my religion. I tell you, it really helps".