Indra Nooyi rules out joining politics, to focus on family

Agencies
August 7, 2018

Indra Nooyi has ruled out joining politics and will now focus on her family after her long-innings at the world's second-largest food and beverage giant PepsiCo.

PepsiCo yesterday announced that its Board of Directors have unanimously elected Ramon Laguarta, 54, to succeed Indian-origin Nooyi as Chief Executive Officer. Ms Nooyi, 62, will step down on October 3 after 24 years with the company, the last 12 as CEO.

She will remain Chairman until early 2019 to ensure a smooth and seamless transition.

Indra Nooyi's departure in two months will further diminish the already small group of female Fortune 500 CEOs, she is one of just 25, and the even more minuscule ranks of women of colour.

"It concerns me in that we can actually count how many there are, as opposed to saying there are hundreds," she told Fortune in an interview. 

Ms Nooyi said in the interview that she did not yet know what she wanted to do next, but added that she would not be running for office. "I'm not good at politics," the Chennai-born said. "I'm just a good worker bee", Nooyi, who has not been afraid to get political, said.

After the 2016 US presidential elections, Indra Nooyi had said Democrat Hillary Clinton's loss to Republican Donald Trump left her daughters and PepsiCo's employees devastated and there were serious concerns among the company's workers, especially the non-white employees, about their safety in an America with Trump as its president.

Ms Nooyi said that after her departure from PepsiCo, her focus will be on her family. Being the CEO of a company is "all consuming," she said. "When you are the CEO, especially of such a large company, there's only one priority, and that priority is being CEO. I think my family was short-changed a lot. The last 24 years, the PepsiCo family always came first."

She added, "Now is the the time to shift my priorities to my family." Ms Nooyi got married in 1980 to Raj Nooyi, President of AmSoft Systems. They have two daughters.

According to the Fortune report, before the announcement of Nooyi's exit, PepsiCo's stock was flat year over year and its beverage sales in North America had dropped for four consecutive quarters as consumers look for alternatives to soda. Ms Nooyi said that the timing of her departure was unrelated. "I look at our performance over a long period of time," she said.

"The company is in great shape." Ms Nooyi added that talks about her transition started approximately one year ago as Laguarta was named PepsiCo's president last July.

"I've been in the company 24 years, and it's been a labour of love," she said in the interview. "At some point, you've got to sit back and say, what do I want to do with my life."

An area that interests Ms Nooyi is getting more women into the top echelons of management. "In many ways, I think after stepping down as CEO I can work with other women to figure out how to get them to c-suite positions and as a mentor and supporter," she said.    There is need to focus on removing barriers to women's progress, she said.

"I see the struggles women go through, and you ca not expect every woman to be a superwoman," she said. "It just doesn't work because there's one constraint we all have, and that's that there are only 24 hours in a day."

Ms Nooyi, one of the world's most powerful and influential business leaders, said leading PepsiCo has been the "honour" of her lifetime, and she is "incredibly proud" of all the company has done over the past 12 years to advance the interests of shareholders and stakeholders.

Among the few executives to break the glass ceiling in corporate America, Ms Nooyi had also created history by being among the few India-born females to lead a global giant when she took over the reins at PepsiCo.

Ms Nooyi described the development as a "day of mixed emotions for me". She said PepsiCo has been "my life for nearly a quarter century and part of my heart will always remain here."

"But I am proud of all we've done to position PepsiCo for success, confident that Ramon and his senior leadership team will continue prudently balancing short-term and long-term priorities, and excited for all the great things that are in store for this company. PepsiCo's best days are still ahead of it," she said yesterday in the company statement. 

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News Network
April 30,2024

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Itamar Ben Gvir, a notorious far-right Israeli minister, has suggested that some Palestinians could be “killed” instead of being kidnapped during the savage war in Gaza.
 
The minister made remarks during an Israeli war cabinet meeting where he questioned the necessity of the detention of a large number of Palestinians.

“Why are there so many arrests? “Can’t you kill some? Do you want to tell me they all surrender? What are we to do with so many arrested? It’s dangerous for the soldiers.” Ben-Gvir was quoted as asking the Israeli military's chief of staff Herzi Halevi.

The minister also reportedly demanded that the army shoot Palestinian women and children in the besieged Palestinian territory to “protect” the Israeli forces.

Halevi briefed ministers who attended the cabinet meeting on the military campaign in Gaza and highlighted that hundreds of Palestinians had surrendered to the occupying forces.

Ben Gvir recently also called for the execution of Palestinian prisoners to ease overcrowding in the jails. The minister said that applying the death penalty to Palestinian detainees was the “right” solution to tackle the problem of prison overcrowding.

Israel soldiers have abducted more than 5,000 of Palestinians during their ongoing military campaign in Gaza.

The Gaza media office has said that Palestinian prisoners were undergoing "the worst kinds of torture" in Israeli jails.

Palestinian rights group Addameer earlier this month said Israel was holding 9,500 Palestinian political prisoners, not including those taken from the Gaza Strip.

Israel has arrested thousands of Palestinians since 7 October. Those detained, often without charge, describe regular beatings and a solitary daily meal designed simply to keep them alive.

Palestinians taken prisoner or hostage from both the West Bank and Gaza have given testimonies detailing horrific and sadistic abuse and torture by their Israeli jailers including beatings, verbal abuse, sexual abuse and rape, breaking of limbs, burns, being stripped naked, and forced drug taking.

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News Network
April 27,2024

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"I always wanted to be in a bar fight," said a US police official after pinning a Black man down on the ground and kneeling on his neck. The man later died at a hospital.

Ohio Police have come under intense scrutiny following the release of body camera footage showing officers pinning a Black man to the ground in a bar, reminiscent of the events that led to George Floyd's death in 2020.

The video, released by the Canton Police Department, captured the moments leading up to the death of Frank Tyson, a 53-year-old man suspected of leaving the scene of a single-car accident on April 18.

In the footage, officers are seen confronting Tyson inside a bar, where an altercation quickly ensues. Despite Tyson's pleas for help and his repeated cries of "I can't breathe," officers wrestle him to the ground and handcuff him, with one officer applying pressure to his back near his neck while saying, "You're fine." 

Tyson continues to plead for relief while lying on the floor. After several minutes, officers notice his lack of responsiveness and proceed to administer CPR. Paramedics arrive on the scene and transport Tyson to a local hospital, where he later dies.

In the body cam footage, one police officer can be heard bragging about how he always wanted to be in a "bar fight" with one of the patrons of the establishment. 

The circumstances surrounding Tyson's death draw chilling parallels to George Floyd's fatal encounter with Minneapolis Police in 2020 which sparked global outrage. 

The officers involved in Tyson's case, identified as Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch, have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. 

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News Network
April 24,2024

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Bengaluru: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Wednesday slammed Rahul Gandhi’s "wealth redistribution promise", stating that only someone with no practical knowledge can speak like that.

 “He is dreaming of a revolution. By talking about wealth redistribution, Rahul Gandhi has insulted and humiliated two Congress Prime Ministers who brought market reforms and increased the wealth of the nation,” he added, recalling the contribution of P V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh in economic liberalisation.

Accusing Gandhi of indirectly trying to say that what the two Congress Prime Ministers did was wrong, Gowda said, "He (Rahul Gandhi) has torn up their economic reforms like he had torn up an ordinance (which sought to overturn the rule that disqualifies convicted MPs and MLAs) issued by (the then) Manmohan Singh (government)."

The 90-year-old JD(S) supremo ridiculed the Congress manifesto claiming that only a party that is sure of never coming to power can make as many promises.

“The Congress has promised so many things in its manifesto. The only party that is very sure of never coming to power will promise so much,” Gowda said at a press conference here.

He said the Congress wants to turn this country 'upside down' and the promises made by it indicated that it wants to come to power 'at any cost'.

“Rahul Gandhi wants to do a wealth survey and distribute the wealth. Does he think he is a mass leader,” Deve Gowda said.

Picking up points from the Congress manifesto ‘Nyay Patra’, Gowda said Rahul Gandhi wants to 'give 30 lakh new central government jobs and run this country'.

“There are only 40 lakh sanctioned jobs. How can he create 30 lakh more jobs overnight? How much will he pay these people? Where will he employ them,” he asked.

“Only someone with no practical knowledge can speak like this. (P) Chidambaram was the manifesto committee chairman. Does he agree with Rahul Gandhi’s immature economic ideas,” Gowda said.

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