My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future

Nooyi immediately loved working for PepsiCo, which she describes as “ambitious, friendly, and fun” (130). Nevertheless, her workload was intense, and she had little time to enjoy the company’s sprawling campus and gardens. Nooyi compares PepsiCo to a three-legged stool, with fast-food restaurants, soda drinks, and snack foods each representing a different division, or “leg,” of the company. In 1994, there were no women among the company’s senior executives, who were all white men. Nooyi respected these executives for their intellect and contributions but could see that PepsiCo, like other big companies, neglected to promote women to the highest-level jobs. Nooyi was an outsider in this environment because she was deeply involved in her family life and parenting in addition to her work, unlike her male colleagues. At this point, Nooyi was very accustomed to being the only immigrant, woman, and person of color in her workplace, and she generally felt welcomed by her new colleagues.

With PepsiCo’s restaurant division floundering, Nooyi worked closely with Roger Enrico, evaluating the quality and locations of their restaurants across the country. The two believed that supporting their best restauranteurs and managers to improve customer service and restaurant quality was the key to success, and profits began to climb after they reformed their system.