Indra Nooyi, India-born chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo, has been named 2009 CEO of the Year by the Global Supply Chain Leaders Group.Nooyi’s key contributions include promoting and supporting socially responsible business practices, including taking on one of the planet’s most pressing problems, climate change.

Nooyi was also instrumental in the company’s efforts to provide a wider portfolio of nutritious foods and beverages. Her commitment to global citizenship is evidenced by her multi-year growth strategy, “Performance with Purpose”

Indra Nooyi , is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PepsiCo, one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies. Forbes magazine ranked Nooyi third on the 2008 list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Fortune magazine has named Nooyi number one on its annual ranking of Most Powerful Women in business for 2006, 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Nooyi was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report.

Indra Nooyi was born into a Tamil family. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Madras Christian College in 1974, and earned an MBA at the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta. Begining her career in India, Nooyi held product manager positions at Johnson & Johnson and textile firm Mettur Beardsell. Graduating in 1980, Nooyi started at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and then held strategy positions at Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri.

In addition to being a member of the PepsiCo board of directors, Nooyi serves as a member of the boards of the International Rescue Committee, Catalyst and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She is a Successor Fellow of the Yale Corporation and member of the Board of Trustees of Eisenhower Fellowships, and currently serves as Chairman of the U.S.-India Business Council.In 2007, she was chosen as a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award by the Government of India.In 2008, she was elected to the Fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 and was named president and CFO in 2001. In 2007 she became the fifth CEO in PepsiCo’s 44-year history. Business officials rave at her ability to drive deep and hard while maintaining a sense of heart and fun. According to BusinessWeek, since she started as CFO in 2000, the company’s annual revenues have risen 72%, while net profit more than doubled, to $5.6 billion in 2006. Nooyi was named on Wall Street Journal’s list of 50 women to watch in 2007 and 2008,and was listed among Time’s 100 Most Influential People in The World in 2007 and 2008. Forbes named her the #3 most powerful woman in 2008.

In January 2008, Nooyi was elected Chairman of the US-India Business Council (USIBC), a non-profit business advocacy organization representing more than 300 of the world’s largest companies doing business in India. Nooyi leads USIBC’s Board of Directors, an assembly of more than 60 senior executives representing a cross-section of American industry.