New York, Aug 6: Indian American business executive Indra K. Nooyi will step down as the Chief Executive of food and beverage major PepsiCo Inc in October, the company said on Monday.

According to the US-based multinational, Nooyi, 62, will step down on October 3 after 24 years with the company, the last 12 as the CEO. However, Nooyi will remain the Chairman of the company until early 2019, Pepsico said.

She will be succeeded by Ramon Laguarta, 54, as the Chief Executive Officer.

"Growing up in India, I never imagined I'd have the opportunity to lead such an extraordinary company," Nooyi was quoted as saying in a company statement.

"Guided by our philosophy of 'Performance with Purpose' - delivering sustained performance while making more nutritious products, limiting our environmental footprint and lifting up all the communities we serve, we've made a more meaningful impact in people's lives than I ever dreamed possible.

"PepsiCo today is in a strong position for continued growth with its brightest days still ahead."

While Nooyi departs, the rest of PepsiCo's senior leadership team will remain unchanged.

Speaking on behalf of PepsiCo's Board of Directors, presiding director Ian Cook said: "As Chairman and CEO, Indra has provided outstanding leadership over the past 12 years, serving as a model both within our industry and beyond for responsible corporate stewardship in the 21st century.

"As CEO, she grew revenue more than 80 per cent, outperforming our peers and adding a new billion-dollar brand almost every other year. And shareholders have benefited: $1,000 invested in PepsiCo in 2006 is worth more than two-and-a-half times that amount today."

Cook pointed out that under her leadership the company invested "for the future, leading the way on corporate sustainability and responsibility, and embedding a sense of purpose in everything the company does.

"As one of the first Fortune 100 CEOs to embed sustainability targets into business operations, Indra was a pioneer, paving the way for a new generation of business leaders who seek to 'do well by doing good'.

"Under her leadership, PepsiCo grew its portfolio of 'Good for You and Better for You' options from about 38 per cent of revenue in 2006 to roughly 50 per cent in 2017, almost tripled its investments in research and development to expand its more nutritious offerings and minimize its environmental impact, and achieved global recognition for the company's work in communities around the world."



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New Delhi (PTI): After a gap of nine years, transparency watchdog Central Information Commission attained its full strength with the appointment of former IAS officer Raj Kumar Goyal and eight other information commissioners, who took the oath of office on Monday.

A three-member panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week recommended their names for the appointment.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Goyal as the chief information commissioner (CIC) at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, her office said in a communique.

The event was attended by Vice President C P Radhakrishnan and Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh, among others.

Goyal is a 1990-batch (retired) IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre. He superannuated as secretary, Department of Justice under the Ministry of Law and Justice, on August 31.

He has also served as secretary (border management) in the Home Ministry and held key posts both at the Centre and in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The post of CIC fell vacant after Heeralal Samariya completed his term on September 13.

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The Commission is headed by a CIC and can have a maximum of 10 information commissioners. With the new appointments, the Commission attained its full strength after a gap of over nine years, according to transparency activists.

In the presence of two incumbent Information Commissioners, Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Kumar Tiwari, Goyal administered the oath of office to eight new appointees at the swearing-in ceremony.

They included former Railway Board chief Jaya Verma Sinha, former IPS officer Swagat Das -- who held key posts in the Intelligence Bureau, Home Ministry and Cabinet Secretariat, among others -- Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, former IAS officer Surendra Singh Meena and ex-Indian Forest Service officer Khushwant Singh Sethi.

Senior journalists P R Ramesh and Ashutosh Chaturvedi, and former Indian Legal Service officer Sudha Rani Relangi, have also been sworn in as information commissioners.

Relangi has also worked as the director of prosecution, Central Bureau of Investigation and joint secretary and legislative counsel in the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The names of the CIC and eight information commissioners were cleared during the meeting of the Modi-led committee comprising Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.