Indra Nooyi, who was made chief executive of American soft drink giant on August 14, 2006, has become one of only a handful of women to head a top U.S. corporation.

Born on October 28, 1955, in Chennai, India, Nooyi, who was ranked No. 11 in Fortune's list of the most powerful women in business, joined the $33 billion global convenient foods and beverages company in 1994.

Prior to being appointed to the top post, she was PepsiCo's president and chief financial officer (CFO), a position to which she was named in May 2001, when she was also elected to the board of directors.

She has directed the company's global strategy for over a decade and was the primary architect of PepsiCo's restructuring, including the divestiture of its restaurants into the successful YUM! Brands, Inc., the spin-off and public offering of company-owned bottling operations into anchor bottler Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG), acquiring Tropicana, and the merger with Quaker Oats that brought the vital Quaker and Gatorade businesses to PepsiCo. Recently, she has been driving critical cross-business initiatives to enhance operations and enable PepsiCo to meet the changing needs of consumers and retailers. "Indra's record of transforming PepsiCo speaks for itself, and she has been an invaluable partner and ally throughout my time as CEO," said Mr. Reinemund. "She not only co-authored our vision and drafted our strategic blueprint, she has a sharp talent for turning insightful ideas and plans into realities and for developing and replenishing our talent base. Having worked side-by-side with Indra for many years, I am convinced she is more than qualified and clearly ready for her new role leading PepsiCo."

Commenting on her appointment, Ms. Nooyi said, "I am humbled by the opportunity to lead PepsiCo, and profoundly grateful to follow in the footsteps of Steve Reinemund, Roger Enrico, Wayne Calloway and Don Kendall. Steve has steered the company to a strong and enviable position, and he will be a continuing source of wisdom and perspective. I am equally fortunate to have amazing partners, not only on the board and executive team, but in the 157,000 bright, talented colleagues around the world who deliver the results every day and are as committed as I am to continue capturing every growth opportunity."

Between 1996 and 1999, Ms. Nooyi was SVP corporate strategy and development. Prior to joining PepsiCo in 1994 as SVP of strategic planning, Nooyi spent four years as SVP of strategy and strategic marketing for Asea Brown Boveri (ABB). From 1986 to 1990, Nooyi was vice president and director of corporate strategy and planning at Motorola, where she joined the company as the business development executive for its automotive and industrial electronics group.

Before joining Motorola, she spent six years directing international corporate strategy projects at the Boston Consulting Group.

In addition to the PepsiCo board of directors, Nooyi serves as a member of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Motorola, the International Rescue Committee and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

She is also a Successor Fellow of Yale Corporation and on the Advisory Board of the Yale School of Management, and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Eisenhower Fellowships, and Asia Society, and the executive committee of the Trilateral Commission.
Indra graduated in science from the Madras Christian College in 1976. After doing her MBA from Indian Institute of Management- Calcutta (IIM-C) in 1978, she did her Masters from Yale University in 1980.

She started her career from India, as a low-profile product manager at Johnson & Johnson and later worked with a textile firm Mettur Beardsell Ltd.

After getting the news Indra's mother, Shantha Krishnamurthy said in Chennai, "As a mother, I am very proud of her accomplishments. It's all god's blessings,"
"Indra is a Tamil movie buff and a big fan of old comedies starring Nagesh. She generally likes humour and making others laugh," she said.

She loves to play the guitar during her spare time said one of close friends.
She likes to visit India in December, during Chennai's music season, Indra's mother added.

Born Indra Krishnamurthy, the 49-year-old has an entrepreneur brother in the US, Narayan Krishnamurthy, and a sister, Chandrika Tandon. Her aunt Aruna Sairam is a noted singer.

Nooyi's father worked for the State Bank of Hyderabad and her grandfather was a district judge.

She is married to management consultant Raj Nooyi and has two daughters. The family lives in Greenwich, Connecticut.