Nooyi: PepsiCo shielded operating staff from activist investor distractions
Indra Nooyi · Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi: Lessons from the Top · Jun 24, 2025 · at 55:59
Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi recounts managing an activist investor campaign and how executive leadership communicated with employees during the crisis.
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“When we had our second activist investor in the stock, it was a crisis for the company because nobody likes to have an activist in the stock. I did a town hall, and I told everybody, I said, look, I'll give you regular updates on the activist. You'll see it on TV. Ignore it. There's a general counsel, the CFO, and I who'll handle the activist. Your job is to just keep focusing on delivering performance. That's your only job. Don't worry about the other distractions. And you can be sure that three of us have the company's best interest at heart.”
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