It's not an easy time to be in charge of a global food and beverage empire with heavy exposure to the U.S. dollar and increasingly health-conscious consumers.
Yet Nooyi has managed to weather the various storms facing PepsiCo (PEP), including a public fight with activist investor Nelson Peltz who wants to split the food-and-beverage giant in half.
PepsiCo named Nooyi CEO in 2006, putting her in charge of a company that today generates a whopping $66 billion in sales through huge brands like Tropicana, Gatorade, Lays and its namesake soda business. She's easily one of the most powerful women and Indian-Americans -- male or female -- in the world.
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On her watch PepsiCo has increased gross margins for 10 consecutive quarters, and it recently reached a truce with Peltz after two years of fighting by giving his ally a seat on the board.
But Nooyi and PepsiCo still face a slew of big challenges, including currency headaches and an economic collapse in Russia, the company's biggest market outside the U.S.
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