WASHINGTON: Indian-American PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi has joined Donald Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum that aims to assist the president-elect in implementing his economic agenda, as announced by the presidential transition team.
Chennai-born Nooyi, 61, is the only Indian-origin executive in the 19 member team which was announced early this week. Three new members were also announced in addition to the current 16. Other corporate hotshots to join the forum are Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, and SpaceX and Tesla chairman, Elon Musk. The forum, which includes some of America's most highly sort after business leaders will meet with the president frequently to share their specific experience and knowledge as he implements his economic agenda.
A media release said that the forum would be chaired by Stephen A Schwarzman, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone. "America has the most innovative and vibrant companies in the world, and the pioneering CEOs joining this forum today are at the top of their fields," said Trump. "My administration is going to work together with the private sector to improve the business climate and make it attractive for firms to create new jobs across the US from Silicon Valley to the heartland." The presidential transition team said members of the forum would be charged with providing their individual views to the president- informed by their unique vantage points in the private sector on how government policy impacts economic growth, job creation, and productivity.
"The forum is designed to provide direct input to the president from many of the best and brightest in the business world in a frank, non-bureaucratic and non-partisan manner," the media release said. As chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Nooyi heads a company that has more than $63 billion in annual net revenue, and more than $35 billion in the US alone. PepsiCo is the largest US food and beverage company with about 110,000 employees and 100 plants across the country. During the general election Nooyi was Hillary Clinton supporter. After Trump's victory she said election has left her daughters, gay workers, employees and non-whites devastated as there was “serious concern” among them about their safety in the US with Trump as president.
