Ramon Laguarta (born 1963 in Barcelona, Spain)[2] is a Spanish businessman who is the chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo.[3] He became CEO on 3 October 2018 after Indra Nooyi stepped down.[4] He is the sixth CEO in the company's history and the first Spanish CEO of a large American multinational company.[5][6]
Ramon Laguarta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1963 (age 60–61) |
| Education | ESADE (BBA, MBA) Arizona State University, Phoenix (MS) |
| Title | CEO of PepsiCo |
| Predecessor | Indra Nooyi |
Education
editLaguarta graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration from ESADE Business School in Barcelona in 1985. In 1986 he received a master's degree in international management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.[7][8]
Career
editBefore joining PepsiCo he worked at Chupa Chups, a candy company based in Spain known for its lollipops.[9] Laguarta joined PepsiCo in January 1996.[citation needed] His first role was in the company's European business, and in 2014 became the CEO of the entire Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA) sector.[10] While working in Europe, Laguarta helped lead the acquisition in 2010 of Russian dairy and juice company Wimm-Bill-Dann, a deal valued at $5.4 billion, the company's second largest acquisition after its purchase of Quaker Oats in 2001.[11]
Laguarta was named president of PepsiCo in September 2017. He oversaw PepsiCo's Global Category Groups, its Global Operations, Corporate Strategy and Public Policy & Government Affairs functions.[5] As a result of the promotion, he moved to the United States.[1]
Laguarta was unanimously voted in as PepsiCo's next CEO on 6 August 2018, the same day Indra Nooyi announced she was stepping down.[12][13][14] He officially took over the role on 3 October 2018 and became Chairman of the Board of Directors on 1 February 2019.[14] Laguarta has been working at PepsiCo for over 20 years, his previous roles including CEO for Europe Sub-Saharan Africa, president for the PepsiCo Eastern Europe Region, commercial Vice President for PepsiCo Europe, general manager for Iberia Snacks and Juices and General Manager for Greece Snacks.[15] Since becoming CEO of PepsiCo, Laguarta established three priorities to lead the company: Accelerating the company's rate of organic revenue growth; becoming a stronger company; and becoming a better company.[16]
As part of making PepsiCo a better company, Laguarta has been tasked with implementing a new purpose behind PepsiCo's sustainability agenda: helping to build a more sustainable food system.[promotion?] Under his leadership, the company is focusing its efforts and goals around agriculture, water usage, plastics, products, climate change and human rights.[17]
This includes the company's effort to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent for their entire value chain over a 2015 baseline (roughly 30-35 million metric tons of GHG),[18][non-primary source needed] as well as their goals by 2025 to make 100% of their packaging recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable and use 25% recycled plastic content in all plastic packaging.[citation needed] Laguarta has also led attempts to reduce waste by acquiring SodaStream.[19] Through the expansion of SodaStream's business, the need for an estimated 67 billion plastic bottles will be avoided through 2025.[20][dead link]
In 2023, Laguarta's total compensation from PepsiCo was $26.2 million, up 8% from the previous year and representing a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 648-to-1.[21]
In addition to being a member of the PepsiCo Board of Directors,[22] Ramona is a director of Visa Inc.[23] He is the Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum's Board of Stewards for the Food Systems Initiative.[24]
Personal life
editLaguarta speaks English, Spanish, French, German and Greek.[9] He is married with three children.[25]
References
edit- ^ a b Strauss, Lawrence C. "3 Things to Know About Pepsi's CEO Swap". Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "Who is Ramon Laguarta, the next CEO of PepsiCo- Business News". businesstoday.in. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ "Leadership – PepsiCo". pepsico.com. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
- ^ Maloney, Jennifer (6 August 2018). "Meet PepsiCo's Next CEO: Ramon Laguarta". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ a b Cullen, Lauren Hirsch, Terri (6 August 2018). "PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi to step down as CEO, President Ramon Laguarta to succeed her". cnbc.com. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Ramón Laguarta, el canterano de Chupa-Chups que lanzó la Pepsi Max". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 7 August 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ "5 Things to Know About the Next PepsiCo CEO". Fortune. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
- ^ "Thunderbird Alumnus Ramon Laguarta Named PepsiCo CEO". Thunderbird School of Global Management. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Pepsi's new CEO Ramon Laguarta: Five things to know". Fox Business. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
- ^ "Who is Ramon Laguarta, the next CEO of PepsiCo- Business News". businesstoday.in. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ Maloney, Jennifer (6 August 2018). "Meet PepsiCo's Next CEO: Ramon Laguarta". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ Stewart, Rebecca (6 August 2018). "Who is Ramon Laguarta? The marketer-turned-Pepsi CEO taking over from Indra Nooyi". Thedrum.com. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ Maloney, Jennifer (6 August 2018). "PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi to Step Aside; Veteran Set to Take Helm". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ a b Cullen, Lauren Hirsch, Terri (6 August 2018). "PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi to step down as CEO, President Ramon Laguarta to succeed her". CNBC. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Tozer, Alice (6 August 2018). "5 Things to Know About the Next PepsiCo CEO". Fortune. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "PepsiCo sets goal to become 'faster, stronger and better'". foodbusinessnews.net. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "PepsiCo's Responsibilities: CEO Daily". Fortune. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Climate Change – PepsiCo". pepsico.com. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- ^ "Plastics – PepsiCo". pepsico.com. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- ^ "Strategic plastic use drives sustainable packaging at PepsiCo". Packaging Digest. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ "Equilar 100: CEO Pay at the Largest Companies by Revenue". Equilar. 7 June 2024. Archived from the original on 15 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ "PepsiCo Inc. PEP (U.S.: Nasdaq)". wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Visa Inc. - Corporate Governance – Board of Directors". VISA. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Food System Initiative – Shaping the Future of Food First Annual Report – April 1 st 2019 – December 31st 2019" (PDF). AidStream.org. World Economic Forum. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Leadership – PepsiCo". pepsico.com. Retrieved 3 October 2018.