Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo president and CFO

Indra Nooyi, president and CFO of of PepsiCo, and Naina Lal Kidwai, deputy CEO of HSBC, were identified by The Wall Street Journal as two of 50 women who are in “line to lead” their companies.

In an article published on Nov. 8, the Journal noted that while women have been rising in the ranks, their progress has not been adequately highlighted in the business world. The inaugural ‘Women to Watch’ survey of the newspaper placed Nooyi at the 16th position and Kidwai at 34th.

Naina Lal Kidwai, HSBC deputy CEO

“...the vast majority aren’t well known outside their companies, even though they wield considerable power within them,” said the Journal, which categorized the women according to those who are leaders, those who are in line to lead, as well as those who have inherited their positions.

Nooyi, the report said, “has played a key role in remaking the snack and beverage giant. And she isn’t done yet.” It credited her with brokering the deal where Pepsi acquired Quaker Oats for $13.8 billion in 2000. “Many industry analysts credit the Quaker acquisition with accelerating Pepsi’s diversification beyond soft drinks and salty snacks and putting the Purchase, N.Y., company on a solid growth track.”

Calling her tenacious and savvy in strategic thinking, it tracked Nooyi’s rise to the position of president following the Quaker deal, putting her immediately in line to succeed PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Steve Reinemund. Nooyi joined Pepsi in 1994. Apart from being president and CFO, Nooyi is engaged in a technology overhaul at Pepsi which would help the company with speedy acquisitions in the future.

Naina Lal Kidwai, despite being the first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School (1982) and able to take offers around the world, chose to work as a banker back in India, despite strangling government regulations at that time, the Journal said.

“Though it was a tough choice to make, she chose to build her career in India because she wanted to be part of the modernization of the capital markets there,” said the article based on an interview with Kidwai. As deputy CEO of HSBC PLC’s Indian operations, “she has participated in and profited from India’s evolution from a backwater of global

markets closed to international capital to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world that attracts billions of dollars in foreign investment every year.”

Kidwai, the report said, helped Indian companies raise billions of dollars in the country and abroad. “She has been offered positions in Hong Kong, London and New York throughout her career, but stuck with India where she could help shape policy through different industry and government committees,” according to the Journal, which quoted her as saying: “I believe my ability to make an impact here is far greater than it could have been in an alien environment.” She also said it was easier for her to become what she has in India than anywhere else because of the family support system.