A Foot on the Brake and a Foot on the Accelerator with Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi – Part 2

The leaders who last are the ones who embrace continuous learning, and who understand what the job really demands. In part two of our conversation with former PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi, Clarke and Indra explore what leading through change costs, and what it takes to govern and invest in a world where technology is outpacing most boardrooms.

Indra discusses prioritizing her time carrying the message of transformation country by country, while earning board support with a 20-page memo and one-on-one meetings. She shares why early wins matter and why it’s critical to focus on both the right and left sides of the decimal point. As a director, she explains how boards can stay relevant in the age of AI and makes the case for a "3.0" model of private equity built on growth and patience. She also reflects on the redefining moments of her career and why she prefers work-life "coexistence" to balance.

We’ll also hear from Laura Sanderson, Global Co-Lead of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Transformation Practice, who shares why leaders may need to rethink what successful transformation looks like when change never really stops.

Four things you’ll learn from this episode:

1. Sequence early wins and focus on both sides of the decimal
2. Both CEOs and board members must be lifelong learners
3. Private equity 3.0 needs a new growth model built on patience and leadership succession
4. Careers are built through agility and redefining moments, not a rigid plan

A closer look at the research from this episode:

• Transforming Without a Finish Line
• 2025 Transformational Leadership Study
• Global CEO Turnover Index
• Global Corporate Governance Trends for 2026
• The Catalyst CEO: Why CEOs Can’t Lead Transformation Alone—And What the Best Do Instead
• Why Tech-Q Alone Isn’t Enough: Bringing the Right Technology Expertise into the Boardroom

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes:

• Lessons from a Catalyst CEO: How Jean-Pascal Tricoire Sparked a 20-Year Transformation at Schneider Electric 
• Leadership Lounge: Why Decision-Making Is Becoming Harder for C-Suite Leaders—and How You Can Overcome It 
• The Eight Moves to Rewrite Your Leadership Playbook with Former IG Group CEO June Yee Felix 
• Leadership Lounge: How New CEOs Build Productive Relationships With Their Board 
• Talking Transformational Leadership with RRA’s CEO Constantine Alexandrakis 
• Leadership Lounge: How to Build a Top-Performing C-suite: The Leadership Blueprint for Sustained High Performance 

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Indra Nooyi
Former CEO & Chairman, PepsiCo

Indra Nooyi served as CEO and chairman of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2019 and was a member of its Board of Directors from 2001 to February 2019.  Today, Mrs. Nooyi is a member of the board of Amazon, where she chairs the audit committee, the supervisory board of Philips, where she is a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee, as well as on the board of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Honeywell.  She also serves on the Advisory Board of Apollo Investment, Deutsche Bank, and the Dean’s Advisory council at MIT’s School of Engineering. She is a Trustee of the National Gallery of Art and advises several early-stage companies.

Between 2019-2022, Ms. Nooyi served as the Class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership at West Point where she worked with the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership to fulfill the mission of character at the U.S. Military Academy. She was also co-chair of The Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group, developing recommendations and guidelines for reactivating the state's economy post-pandemic.

Ms. Nooyi is the author of the book My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future, a memoir that offers insight and a call-to-action on how our society can blend work and family — and advance women — in the 21st century. My Life in Full is a New York Times bestseller and available in multiple languages.

Ms. Nooyi is the recipient of 21 honorary degrees. In 2007, the Government of India awarded her the Padma Bhushan, the country’s 3rd highest civilian honor. In that same year, she was named an “Outstanding American by choice” by the Department of Homeland Security/US Citizenship and Immigration Services. In 2019, her portrait was inducted into the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, and in 2022 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts of Sciences, the New York Academy of Science and the American Philosophical Society. 

She is also revered as a role model for women and immigrants and celebrated for her empowering messages on inclusivity.

She holds a B.S. from Madras Christian College, an M.B.A. from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta, and a Master of Public and Private Management from Yale University. Ms. Nooyi is married and has two daughters and one granddaughter.