On the third day of the Jaipur Literature Festival, former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi revealed how she made her way to the top in the ruthless corporate world. Born in Tamil Nadu, Nooyi was appointed CEO in 2006.
While talking to Aparna Piramal Raje, she discussed her memoirs My life as a whole: work, family and our future and the attributes of the modern world. Nooyi said it is important for people to understand that a family makes all members and not just the woman.
“People need to understand that family is not feminine. Family is family. People assume that family is female and it’s her problem to find out. Family belongs to all of us. Men should recognize that women represent a strong talent pool. Women are hungry, they want the power of the wallet, they want economic freedom,” she said, adding: “So draw on the whole talent pool and not just half of the talent pool. They should see women as just another talent, as opposed to female talent. It is of course non-threatening, but many still feel threatened.”
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The 66-year-old left for the US in 1968 after being admitted to Yale. She said her upbringing ensured that no time was wasted pursuing what she wanted to achieve. “I think from the time we were kids it was drilled into us. We were told that Satan has work for idle hands. You only have a limited amount of time. Use it wisely. These were the messages my grandfather passed on to us non-stop,” she said.
This, she added, is a philosophy she follows to this day. “It’s gotten to a point where when I sit still, I go, ‘God! I wasted five minutes.” I always think about helping someone or enriching my brain. My childhood experiences wired my head and brain differently. I have trouble sitting still. That’s why meditation was never part of my life,” she said.
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In her memoir ‘My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future’, former CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi follows her journey of grit and determination as she broke through several barriers of gender and race to become a global business leader. pic.twitter.com/7GQlsOTeCJ— jaipurlitfest (@JaipurLitFest) March 7, 2022
But even after she reached the top, Nooyi revealed that there were times when she was at a horrific crossroads. “If I said everything went smoothly for me, I would be lying,” said Nooyi.
“There were times, even when I was CEO, when people would talk about me in the boardroom. They’d give me a look that said, ‘What the hell is she talking about’ or they just rolled their eyes. Sometimes, like this sort of things happen, I’ve seen men say the four letter word and throw things around. That’s how I couldn’t vent my frustration. So I excused myself, left the room, went to my bathroom, let out a few tears of anger and then i would put on some makeup and come out unfortunately society doesn’t accept women acting like men the last thing i want to do is push that line i would come back and say i appreciated everyone’s input , but this is how we will go,” she revealed.
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