PepsiCo has appointed Ram Krishnan as CEO, PepsiCo North America, effective December 28, 2025. With a strong track record in revitalising US Beverages through portfolio innovation and go-to-market transformation, Krishnan will lead efforts to integrate the company’s Foods and Beverages operations to better serve consumers and customers.
PepsiCo’s decision to appoint Ram Krishnan as Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo North America marks a pivotal leadership shift for one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies. Effective December 28, 2025, Krishnan will step into the role with a clear mandate: to accelerate the integration of PepsiCo’s Foods and Beverages operations across North America, aligning portfolios, capabilities and go-to-market strategies to better serve consumers and customers in an increasingly complex marketplace.
The appointment comes as part of a broader set of organisational changes announced by PepsiCo, signalling the company’s intent to sharpen execution, unlock synergies across its businesses and build a more cohesive operating model. North America remains PepsiCo’s largest and most strategically significant market, housing some of its most iconic brands across snacks, beverages and convenient foods. Integrating these businesses more closely is not simply an operational exercise, but a strategic move aimed at responding to shifting consumer preferences, retail dynamics and competitive pressures.
Krishnan is widely seen as a leader well suited to this task, having built a strong track record within PepsiCo over the years. Most recently, he has been credited with driving momentum in the US Beverages business through portfolio innovation and go-to-market transformation. Under his leadership, the beverages division has focused on revitalising core brands while expanding into faster-growing segments, reflecting a nuanced understanding of changing consumption habits and the need for both scale and agility.
PepsiCo’s emphasis on integration reflects broader trends shaping the food and beverage industry. Consumers today increasingly expect seamless brand experiences, whether they are purchasing snacks and drinks together for at-home consumption or engaging with brands across physical retail, e-commerce and foodservice channels. Retailers, meanwhile, are seeking partners who can offer holistic category solutions, data-driven insights and efficient supply chains. By bringing Foods and Beverages closer together under a unified leadership agenda, PepsiCo aims to respond more effectively to these expectations.
For Krishnan, the role of CEO, PepsiCo North America represents both continuity and change. Continuity, because he inherits a business with strong brands, deep distribution capabilities and significant scale. Change, because the integration agenda requires rethinking how teams collaborate, how portfolios are managed and how innovation is prioritised across categories that have traditionally operated with a degree of separation. The challenge will be to extract value from integration without diluting the distinct strengths that have made PepsiCo’s snack and beverage businesses leaders in their respective segments.
Krishnan’s recent work in US Beverages offers insight into how he may approach this task. Portfolio innovation has been a central theme, with an emphasis on broadening offerings to include low- and no-sugar options, functional beverages and formats that align with on-the-go and at-home occasions. At the same time, go-to-market transformation has involved rethinking distribution models, strengthening relationships with retailers and leveraging data to improve execution at the shelf. These capabilities are directly relevant to an integrated North America business, where coordinated innovation and execution can unlock incremental growth.
The timing of the leadership change is also significant. The North American consumer environment remains dynamic, shaped by inflationary pressures, evolving health and wellness priorities, and rapid shifts in shopping behaviour. At the same time, competition across both snacks and beverages has intensified, with legacy players facing challenges from nimble insurgent brands and private labels. PepsiCo’s response has increasingly focused on leveraging its scale while remaining close to consumer needs—a balance that integration is intended to support.
By appointing a leader with deep internal experience, PepsiCo is signalling confidence in its existing talent pipeline and strategic direction. Krishnan’s familiarity with the company’s culture, systems and stakeholders is expected to enable a smoother transition and faster execution of the integration agenda. It also underscores PepsiCo’s belief that the complexity of the North America business requires leadership that understands both the operational realities and the strategic ambitions of the organisation.
Integration, as articulated by the company, will be pursued “where it creates value,” suggesting a pragmatic rather than dogmatic approach. Not all aspects of Foods and Beverages may be combined, and preserving category-specific expertise will remain important. The goal, instead, is to identify areas where closer alignment can enhance speed, reduce duplication and improve the customer experience. This could include shared insights and analytics, coordinated innovation pipelines, integrated sales teams and more unified engagement with key retail partners.
For employees, Krishnan’s appointment may signal a period of change accompanied by opportunity. Integration often brings with it new ways of working, cross-functional collaboration and the chance to build broader skill sets. At the same time, it requires clear communication and leadership to ensure that teams remain aligned and motivated. Krishnan’s leadership style and ability to articulate a compelling vision for PepsiCo North America will be critical in navigating this transition.
From an investor perspective, the move highlights PepsiCo’s ongoing focus on optimising its operating model to drive sustainable growth. North America is a mature market in many respects, but one that continues to offer opportunities for innovation-led growth and margin expansion when managed effectively. Integration of Foods and Beverages has long been discussed as a potential lever, and Krishnan’s appointment suggests that PepsiCo is now ready to pursue this more actively under a single leader.
The effective date of December 28, 2025, provides a clear timeline for transition and planning. It allows for continuity through the remainder of the year while giving Krishnan the runway to shape priorities for the next phase of PepsiCo North America’s evolution. As he steps into the role, expectations will be high—not only to sustain performance in core categories, but to demonstrate that integration can translate into tangible benefits for consumers, customers and the business.
Ultimately, Ram Krishnan’s elevation to CEO of PepsiCo North America reflects the company’s belief that leadership, integration and innovation must go hand in hand. As the foods and beverages landscape continues to evolve, PepsiCo is betting that a more connected organisation, guided by experienced leadership, will be better positioned to adapt and grow. Krishnan’s agenda—to accelerate integration where it creates value—captures this intent, setting the tone for a new chapter in PepsiCo’s North America story.
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