5 Tips Learned from PepsiCo's CEO Indra Nooyi to Become an Outstanding Leader in Finance

Indra Nooyi is an Indian-American business executive and the current Chief of Executive of PepsiCo - the second largest food and beverage business in the world by net revenue. The company’s products are sold in approximately 200 countries, and it employs some 198,000 people worldwide. Its principal businesses include Frito-Lay snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and Quaker foods. 

She left India at the age of 23 to earn her M.B.A. at Yale School of Management. She joined PepsiCo in 1994 after working for the Boston Consulting Group and Motorola. In 2001, she was named President and CFO of PepsiCo. 5 years later, she succeeded CEO Reinemund to become the first female CEO of PepsiCo and is still being a powerful leader until now.

Participation

PepsiCo's annual revenue is still high during the Great Recession (2008-2009).

A leader has to be the one who is always willing to accept challenges and attempting to create another direction for the company. Since she started as a CEO in 2006, PepsiCo's revenue has continuously increased. Even during the financial crisis in 2008-2009, there is not a big gap of annual revenue of PepsiCo shows how talented Nooyi is in planning good strategy for the company to get out of the struggles with less loss. 
Additionally, even though PepsiCo is a snack-food company, Nooyi has been pursuing an unusual ambition of turning it into a health food company with healthy products such as low-calories Gatorade or high-fiber oatmeal. She wanted to hold a campaign against obesity to improve human lives. As a result, she has replaced high fructose corn syrup with beet sugar to produce sweetness for PepsiCo's beverage since 2011, for example, the Pepsi Throwback.

Outstanding Communication Skills  

One's communication skills will be the forefront of his/her leadership qualities. She is surrounding with mentors and always takes suggestions from them, listens and incorporates the good points that she does. She is not the one to veer away even a little from her moral compass. You must have strength to hold onto what is morally right, no matter what, especially when you are a leader of a large company. She also encourages business people to over invest in oral communication because leaders have to constantly motivate the troops.

Good Employee Management

While many leaders use their time to focus on managing upward primarily out of fear, Nooyi spends her time relating to all levels of her employees. She has instilled a a sense of purpose in her employees and when they get out of bed in the morning, they know that they are making a difference and working for a great boss. The way she cares about her employees helps gain loyalty in them for PepsiCo. 

Expectation of excellence

 If you want to be known in your finance field, you have to be an expert. In anything, take a decision weighing everything for and against it. Once you have decided, never waive from it. You should send out the message that you are courageous and confident enough to say what is believed to be right by you. Nooyi never takes "I don't know" for an answer and always urges her employees until they come up with a good solution. She wants people to excel at what they are doing so that they can aspire to be her in the future. 

Capitalism with a Purpose 

PepsiCo's stock price is above others in the stock exchange in January 2013.

Purpose in finance is something that cannot be shut down. Nooyi encourages the capitalist to weave purpose into the way we think about our performance - a part of the business model. With this philosophy, she is increasing not only PepsiCo's revenue but also its stock price. She notes anyone who is a part of the capitalist society that if we do not all practice capitalism with a conscience, we are doing the world a disservice, making it more even and unsustainable. 

 

Post-Crisis, Here's How Asia Helps Financial Analysts Survive

Finance majors should be aware of the current situation surrounding the world of finance, however. This is not to say that there are no opportunities out there at all for finance majors; these opportunities are simply in places which some finance majors might not automatically think to look. Many individuals who pursue finance majors would actually likely be better off pursuing or planning on careers outside of traditional finance areas, such as Wall Street, and instead inside of areas such as emerging economy, such as Asia. There are few things you should understand clearly if you want to move abroad to work:

Global finance and its impact on financial analyst worldwide

1/ Why should you move abroad to work in Asia instead of in America?

There is no doubt that financial analysts are being rational, deeply rational especially during the economic downturn. Many of them choose to work in Asia because of the cheaper living expenses than in America. People are much better off living in Asia because a good priced $1 in the U.S. is only 54 cents in Thailand or 62 cents in China. You can save up to at least half amount of your money. It is easy to understand why Asia has been a destination for many financial analysts when they always have a sense of rationality. 

 

Also, better employment opportunities and better chances for professional development are the two key elements that attract financial analysts. More income was fourth, and about the same number of people claimed that working in Asia provided better chances for career advancement and an interesting lifestyle.

 

Working overseas was once an unusual adventure. It is still an adventure, but an adventure shared by many more people. Financial analysts are evolving to adapt to a new environment where things are cheaper but still guarantee a good life.

2/ Are there many international corporations in Asia nowadays?

Marina Bay Financial Center in Singapore

 In order to move finance jobs overseas, there must be a growth of financial centers and large companies in those countries. Years ago, the two largest financial centers are placed in New York and London. There was no such thing in Asia but with an impressive high growth potential, they are now opening offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, and India. Three out of the top five financial centers in the world now are in Asia: Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and they are predicted to still be on top in 2025. These centers are seen as the golden places for financial analysts.

Starbucks store in Vietnam

 

 Additionally, not only those financial centers develop but also the food/beverage companies grow in Asia.  Opening a store in a foreign country like that requires the company to have an experienced financial team to take care of the operating step because the first step is always challenging. The financial analysts will make sure if the store is operating with profit or loss. The percentage of American ages 25 to 34, who are going for finance and working abroad, has dramatically increased from 1 percent to 5.4 percents in 2012 and 2013 and it creates a positive effect for global business, especially, in the finance field.

3/ Which language are people using at work in Asia?

Communicating fluently in English is a must-have ability if you want to enter the global business. Even though English is just a second language in some countries in Asia such as China, Japan, Korea, etc, it is still highly valuable in business. Every Asian who wants to apply for jobs in a U.S. corporation must show that they are proficient in English by the IELTS test - the world's most popular international English test. English is a default language of international business because all business contracts or international treaties are written in English. If you do not know English, you will be left behind. And no matter what, an English native speaker is always the best choice to be the leader or some important positions abroad. This advantage leads to the consequence that many people fly overseas for a better job. 

Finance Major: Still a Hot Major After the Great Recession

 

Majoring in finance as an undergraduate student is a good choice if you want to pursue business professions after graduation. It will help build a stable education foundation for later pursuing graduate level degrees. Working in finance mainly means managing money for large companies, organizations, or even individuals. There are five things you should understand about finance so as to have a better look at the major that you are going to pursue. 

1> Who are the financial analysts? 

Financial analysts are the ones who research macroeconomics and microeconomics conditions along with company fundamentals to make business recommendations. They often recommend a course of action, such as to sell or to buy a company's stock based upon its overall current and predicted strength. They are also being rational, deeply rational in making tough decisions related to the company's operation so as not to let the company go into debt. Being a financial analyst means building a stable financial base for the company to continue operating successfully. Once you are in it, you are fully participating because every financial decision of the company directly relates to you. 

2> What do they do in finance?

Financial analysts let money change hands in return for profit instead of saving it.

Financial analysts interpret the financial statements of the company to figure out if it is operating with loss or gain in order to attract investors and improve credibility to creditors by issuing stocks or bonds. They also have to be able to react to the cash of the company in the stock market. For example, if the company is having excess cash floating around, they have to quickly buy shares back on the open market to circulate the cash flows and bring up the profit. Additionally, they have to make sure the financial statements of our company is reliable enough for investors to invest in or for the banks to lend the company money.

3> What do they value in finance? 

Financial analysts value numbers the most since what are written can be investigated or analyzed meticulously to reflect the accurate operation of the business. In order to know how to calculate or format it correctly, a financial analyst has to achieve at least a B.S. or B.A. degree in finance and this relates to the value of the degree from which college you are enrolling in. It is obvious that the more famous college you are enrolling in, the more quality your degree has but in some cases, a famous college only provides some best programs for some specific majors. Mentioning about business, the best undergraduate business program belongs to Cornell University, University of Berkeley - CA, etc.

The GMAT is the gate to graduate schools 

for business-related majors.

4> How do they communicate in finance?

Financial balance sheet is extremely

 important for financial analysts.

In finance, communication between co-worker and co-worker is mostly through business documents. They have their own lingo and grammar that would only be understood by the financial analysts. For example, in the picture above, they are analyzing the company's financial growth based on the numerical information instead of making a long speech to show how it should be done. They also gather information about the stock market and daily finance news on the Wall Street Journal and CNNMoney to update information about global finance to make sure the company is on the right track and following the world's economic growth.

5> Dress code for financial analysts

Ladies' office style of 2013

Financial analysts believe dressing elegantly reflects their career position. 

Women financial analysts used to wear a knee-length black skirt, a white blouse and a black blazer outside as a formal type of business dressing. But nowadays, it does not strictly follow that style anymore. Unconventional job descriptions and environments affect a lady's office style, no matter if one just starts her career or is a chairwoman of the board, as long as the dress or the skirt's length reaches the knees. 

 Men financial analysts' dress code is a little bit more traditional when they wear a full suit with a dress shirt and tie.

 Financial analysts believe that when they feel confident with our appearances, they will feel professional and more enthusiastic in their jobs.

Finance is a great major, isn't it?