Reshuffle at Pepsi, Manu Anand moves to PepsiCo SE Asia

Manu Anand, managing director, FritoLay India, and Gautham Mukkavilli, managing director, Thailand, will assume their new responsibilities in about two months

PepsiCo Asia has reshuffled the responsibilities of its senior management.

Manu Anand, managing director, FritoLay, India (PepsiCo’s foods business in India) will now head the food and beverage businesses for PepsiCo, South East Asia; the key markets here are Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Gautham Mukkavilli, currently managing director, Thailand, will step into Anand’s shoes as managing director for PepsiCo’s foods business in India. Both Anand and Mukkavilli will assume their new roles in about two months’ time.

Manu Anand

A chartered accountant by training, Anand joined PepsiCo 13 years ago in 1994 as chief financial officer (CFO) of Frito Lay India, and he worked there till 1997. Post that, he spearheaded an acquisition and integration in Australia, in which he was involved for a year. In 1998, he returned to India as managing director of the food business of PepsiCo India. Anand has played a significant role in leading FritoLay India through an enriching growth phase, building it up as a leading convenience food company in India. During his tenure, FritoLay has become one of the fastest growing FMCG companies in India.

Prior to joining PepsiCo, Anand was with ICI India for over a decade, and his primary area of operation there was finance.

Gautham Mukkavilli

Talking about Anand’s appointment, Ron McEachern, president, PepsiCo Asia, says, “Since joining PepsiCo in India 13 years ago, Manu has built an outstanding foods business which will be his legacy. He and his team have delivered outstanding volume and value growth while broadening the foods footprint nationally and growing its share to a leadership position in the market. He and his team built an unbeatable distribution system, strong supply chain capability and defined local relevance through iconic brands like Kurkure and Lays.”

Mukkavilli joined PepsiCo Beverages International in 1991 as one of the early members of the team that launched Brand Pepsi in India. Ever since, he has held general management posts of growing scale and complexity in India, Vietnam and Thailand for the beverage and food business at the company.

He has served on the PepsiCo International, Asia Pacific, leadership team for the last nine years and has played a key role in the growth of the business in the South East Asia region. In 1999, he started up company owned bottling operations in Vietnam, which is today a vibrant and fast growing market. He then became managing director, PepsiCo beverages, Thailand, in 2000; Thailand is a key international market for PepsiCo.

In 2004, Mukkavilli spearheaded the formation of a ‘Power of One’ business in Thailand, integrating PepsiCo’s beverage and snack portfolio. Prior to PepsiCo, he spent eight years in sales and marketing with the UB Group and with Brooke Bond India Ltd, a Hindustan Unilever company.

McEachern says, “Mukkavilli’s depth of operating, franchise, food and beverage experience across India, Vietnam and Thailand prepares him exceptionally well to lead the growth momentum in the strategically important India business. In his most recent assignment as managing director, Thailand, he spearheaded the ‘Power of One’ integration of the food and beverage businesses while delivering strong volume and profit results along with leadership share positions in both categories. I know that with his direct experience in India and his broader perspective on Asia, Mukkavilli will continue to build on the PepsiCo success story in India.”

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