- Rank3
- Previous Rank2
- Age58
- TitleChairman and CEO
- CompanyPepsiCo
- IndustryConsumer Products
Nooyi’s innovation push is paying off at PepsiCo, which has increased R&D spending 25% since 2011. Products launched in the past three years now make up 9% of revenue–which totaled $66.4 billion in 2013. And of 2013’s 50 bestselling new food and beverage products in the U.S., nine came from PepsiCo: Starbucks Iced Coffee, Muller Quaker Yogurt, and Mountain Dew Kickstart, to name a few. In July the company raised its profit growth forecast for the year, which should help Nooyi counter calls by activist investor Nelson Peltz to break up the food and beverage giant.