Extraordinary tale of Indra Nooyi, fomer CEO of Pepsico

I don’t know why I’ve chosen Indra Nooyi’s My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future to return to the biography genre after such a long time. In 2024, I’ve rarely touched books in this genre, as my interest in reading life stories had waned. Instead, I’ve been drawn to sci-fi, psychology, and economics.

But at the bookstore, when my eyes caught sight of the former PepsiCo CEO’s book, I couldn’t stop myself from picking it up. Why did I choose it? I asked myself. There’s no concrete answer — perhaps it’s because she seems like an inspiring and intriguing personality. A woman of color from a developing country who rose to lead a global FMCG giant and Forbes 500 company, PepsiCo. That story is indeed extraordinary.

Some time ago, I listened to her on a podcast where she spoke about her personal and professional journey, how she challenged stereotypes and faced misogyny in the workplace, and how she was often the only woman of color in boardrooms across corporate America. She described the ongoing struggle of balancing her personal and professional lives. I think that’s the main reason I picked up her book.

Salute to Indra Nooyi! It takes extraordinary courage to stand up in boardrooms full of misogyny, machismo, and predominantly white men.