PepsiCo India has appointed Saakshi Verma Menon as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for its India Foods business, which includes marquee brands such as Lay’s, Kurkure, Uncle Chipps, Quaker, Cheetos, and Doritos.
Prior to this, Menon served as the Senior Marketing Director for Africa, Middle East & South Asia (AMESA) at PepsiCo.
As CMO, Menon will lead brand strategy, innovation, and consumer engagement across PepsiCo’s diverse food portfolio in India, aiming to deepen the cultural and emotional resonance of the company’s iconic brands.
With over two decades of marketing leadership experience, Menon brings a strong background in purpose-led brand building and consumer-first innovation. Her career spans global roles at Uber, Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola, and most recently as Marketing Director at Kimberly-Clark India, where she led brand transformation efforts.
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Announcing the move on LinkedIn, Menon shared her enthusiasm for the new role:
“I am thrilled to share that I will now be stepping into a new role within the PepsiCo family and leading the marketing mandate for India Foods as the Chief Marketing Officer. Super pumped to work on some of the most iconic and beloved brands from the house of PepsiCo… and excited to shape the next chapter of their journey.”
She also thanked the AMESA and international beverages teams for their support during her previous stint and acknowledged the groundwork laid by her predecessor Anshul Khanna and the India team. Menon expressed gratitude to PepsiCo’s leadership, including Jane Wakely, Eugene Willemsen, Jagrut Kotecha, Mark Kirkham, and Vishal Kaul, for their trust.
