It’s Women’s History Month, and we’re talking to a woman who has been making history for decades: Indra Nooyi, the former CEO and chair of PepsiCo, and the first woman of color and immigrant to run a Fortune 50 company.

Regarded as one of the foremost strategic thinkers of our time, this trailblazer is an exemplary model of leadership, and an inspiration for generations of women as we pave the path forward.

This intimate conversation explores her journey, gender equality in the workplace, how women can support each other, and what is needed to create a better future.

 

Indra Nooyi

Indra Nooyi is the former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo (2006-2019); a Fortune 50 company with operations in over 180 countries. In this role, Nooyi was the chief architect of Performance with Purpose, PepsiCo’s pledge to do what’s right for the business by being responsive to the needs of the world around us. Prior to becoming CEO, Nooyi served in various leadership roles at PepsiCo beginning in 1994. Before that, she worked for Asea Brown Boveri, a Zurich-based industrials company, Motorola, and The Boston Consulting Group. Nooyi began her career in India, at Johnson & Johnson and Mettur Beardsell, Ltd., a textile firm. Nooyi served as a member of the PepsiCo board of directors between 2001 and February 2019. Currently, she is a member of the board of Amazon and sits on the audit committee. She serves on the global leadership board at edX, is a member of the international advisory council of Temasek, is an independent director of the International Cricket Council, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She is also a Dean’s advisory council member at MIT’s School of Engineering and a member of the MIT Corporation. Nooyi has received numerous prizes, accolades and honorary degrees over the years, including the Padma Bhushan, India’s 3rd highest civilian honor, and was named an “Outstanding American by choice” by the US State Department. Nooyi sits on the review panel of the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge, is a member of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award nominating committee, and is a judge for the Templeton Prize for Science and Curiosity and the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award. @indranooyi

 

Celeste Headlee

Celeste Headlee is a communication and human nature expert, and an award-winning journalist. She is a professional speaker, and also the author of Speaking of Race: Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism—and How to Do It, Do Nothing, Heard Mentality, and We Need to Talk. In her twenty-year career in public radio, she has been the executive producer of On Second Thought at Georgia Public Radio, and anchored programs including Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. She also served as cohost of the national morning news show The Takeaway from PRI and WNYC, and anchored presidential coverage in 2012 for PBS World Channel. Headlee’s TEDx talk sharing ten ways to have a better conversation has over twenty million total views to date. @CelesteHeadlee

 

Additional Resources:

* Subscribe to Nooyi’s new LinkedIn newsletter, Insight — first edition launches 3/8! She’ll be writing about work, family, and the future. 

* Get free shipping on books by our guests — including Indra Nooyi’s My Life In Full — when you