As the Chief Executive Officer and Chair of PepsiCo Inc., Indra Nooyi serves as a role model for women’s leadership. I’d argue that Nooyi, ranked second on Fortune’s list of “Most Powerful Women,” has done more to smash the notion that women can’t be strong leaders than anyone else in business today.
A champion of workplace diversity, Nooyi shares her career story as a woman and person of color, never sugarcoating the challenges of being a working mom. She has been just as vocal about the powerful benefits of women’s leadership, saying her gender influences (but doesn’t define) her approach to leadership. “Being a woman has helped me develop a unique, adaptive approach to leadership that is critical in today’s world of rapid change,” she was quoted as saying. “For me, this means leading with open eyes, open ears, an open mind and an open heart.”