Ramon Laguarta is the chairman and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of an American multinational beverage company, PepsiCo. Soon after Indra Nooyi stepped down, Ramon became the CEO of the company on 3 October 2018.
Laguarta is the first Spanish CEO of an American multinational company, PepsiCo. He is associated with PepsiCo for over 25 years.
He began his career at Chupa Chups, a candy company based in Spain popularly known for its lollipops. He spent over 8 years in Chupa Chups and held different managerial roles.
In 1996, he joined PepsiCo and worked in the company's European business, and in 2014 became the CEO of the entire Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA) sector. In 2010, Ramon helped the company in the acquisition 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.
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In September 2017, Laguarta was promoted and named the President of PepsiCo. He then moved to the United States and oversaw PepsiCo's Global Category Groups, its Global Operations, Corporate Strategy, and Public Policy & Government Affairs functions.
On 6 August 2018, former CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi announced to step down from the position, and on the same day, Ramon Laguarta was unanimously voted in as PepsiCo's next CEO.
Laguarta officially took over the responsibility of the CEO of the company on 3 October 2018 and became Chairman of the Board of Directors on 1 February 2019.
As soon as he became the CEO of the company, he focussed on three points to lead the company: Accelerating the company's rate of organic revenue growth; becoming a stronger company, and becoming a better company.
Under his leadership, PepsiCo is also adopting new leadership behaviors that are focused on driving high performance and building competitive advantage. These behaviors include: being consumer-centric; acting as owners; focusing and getting things done fast; voicing opinions fearlessly, raising the bar on talent and diversity; celebrating success; and acting with integrity.
In his tenure, the company is also working to implement PepsiCo's sustainability agenda: helping to build a more sustainable food system.
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Apart from being a member of the PepsiCo Board of Directors, he also currently serves as a director of Visa Inc. He is also the Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum's Board of Stewards for the Food Systems Initiative.
In 1985, Ramon Laguarta held an MBA from ESADE Business School in Spain and a Master’s in International Management (M.M.) from Thunderbird School of Global Management. Ramon is fluent in 6 languages- English, Catalan, Spanish, French, German, and Greek. He is married to Maria and the couple is blessed with three sons.
