Overview:
This role is responsible for shaping and executing PepsiCo’s enterprise strategy and innovation agenda across emerging and developing markets. It involves translating long-term strategic priorities into scalable, market-relevant platforms, identifying white space opportunities, and fostering strategic partnerships with global and regional tech players.
Key responsibilities include:
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Enterprise Strategy Development: Define and align enterprise strategy with global priorities, ensuring relevance to high-growth regions and operational feasibility.
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Innovation Program Leadership: Design and manage end-to-end innovation programs, from terrain selection and vendor scouting to pilot execution and scale-up.
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Vendor & Pilot Management: Lead the vendor selection process, coordinate proof-of-concept (POC) pilots, and ensure alignment with business needs and legal standards.
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Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with business leaders and executive sponsors to drive decisions, align innovation with business goals, and report progress.
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Scale-Up & Incubation: Refine scale-up processes, support implementation, and establish frameworks for incubating Horizon 2 & 3 technologies.
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Event & Communication Management: Plan and execute key program events, manage internal and external communications, and promote a culture of innovation.
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Collaboration & Ecosystem Building: Build partnerships with startups, academia, and industry leaders to drive collaborative innovation and research.
Responsibilities:
Build Enterprise Strategy for Emerging & Developing Markets
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Inform and define the future of enterprise strategy for emerging/developing markets, aligned with the key global priorities
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Translate long-term enterprise strategies into scalable, market-relevant platforms that address the unique dynamics of high-growth regions
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Connect the needs of emerging markets to PepsiCo’s largest-scale platforms, ensuring strategic alignment and future readiness
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Identify strategic opportunities and white spaces in developing markets that require tailored platform approaches and unique solutions (e.g., price, implementation etc. to ensure operational fit)
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Develop strategic partnerships with global and regional tech players to secure access to next-gen platforms for emerging and developing regions
Innovation Program set up
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Ensure alignment of business unit objectives with the overall innovation strategy and technological feasibility
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Manage and drive the innovation programs from start to finish, ensuring timely and effective delivery of use cases and POCs
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Set clear objectives and KPIs for the programs, continuously monitoring progress and adjusting strategy to maximize impact
Manage process selecting vendors for POC/pilot
Step 1: Select priority terrains
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Ensure strategic terrains, ripe for startup tech innovation, are identified and clear briefs developed
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Support driving full alignment of terrains across organization
Step 2: Meet vendors
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Ongoing mapping and scouting of the tech landscape
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Coordinate eco-systems immersions (virtual/in-person) to scout for relevant vendors – right people attend & right timing with effective engagement tools
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Ensure timely follow-ups with attendees to drive alignment on prioritized vendors and next steps
Step 3: Select vendors
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Consolidate immersion output (selected vendors, initial use cases etc) for sign off from program executive sponsors
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Maintain database (CRM) of all startup discussions & status to ensure efficiency for program and ongoing startup engagement
Co-lead, with transformation owners, to ensure well-run POCs/pilots
Step 1: Prepare for kick off
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Work with advisory to assign business partner to ‘own pilot’ and executive sponsor
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As needed, navigate org to ensure experts engaged
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Support initial discussions introducing business partner and vendors
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Coordinate with Legal all documentation (e.g., NDAs, MOUs) to ensure adherent to PEP standards and protected from IP
Step 2a: Project kick off
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Facilitate kick-off sessions by
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Defining use case and objectives for the pilot
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Setting ways-of-working for rapid decision: e.g., micro-team (DICE framework), milestones, KPIs and timeline)
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Progress POC/pilot process with weekly business partner calls & monthly senior sponsor calls
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Act as a bridge between vendors and PEP and remove roadblocks or stepbacks
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Support vendors & business partners to build effective communications that inspire PEP engagement with the startup (e.g., well written presentations/videos on case for action and opportunity for PepsiCo)
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Consolidate communications for ongoing advisory updates
Step 2b: Use case discovery (when needed, for relevant technologies that are cross functional)
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Showcase technology internally to PEP experts to discover use-cases
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Work closely with business leaders – business partners and executive sponsors - to drive decisions
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Provide external lens to help shape and refine focus areas
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Develop process flows to identify opportunities for innovation
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Lead process for post pilot evaluation and scale-up recommendation
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Engage and manage internal stakeholders across various departments, ensuring alignment on program goals and outcomes
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Regularly report to senior leadership on the progress of innovation initiatives, highlighting key achievements, challenges, and opportunities
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Provide thought leadership on industry trends, emerging technologies, and innovation best practices.
Refine design of scale up process and support implementation of scale up
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Refine design of scale-up process
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Guide business owner through the process and best practices
Lead planning & execution of key program events – immersion sessions, kick-offs, interim & final events with senior leaders and vendors
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Design and execute effective and engaging immersion session
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Coordinate and lead thorough debriefs with internal attendees and drive selection of vendors to progress to pilot
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Design program kick-off and events – multi-day events with broad range of attendees
Collaboration Management
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Build strong, mutually beneficial partnerships with industry leaders, start-ups, and academic institutions to drive collaborative research, development, and pilot programs
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Manage relationships with internal business units, aligning innovation initiatives with business needs and challenges
Create ongoing and inspiring communications on progress to gain executive support & continue infusing innovation culture
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Support executive updates on priority use cases, project status and lessons learned
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Sector comms on progress with successful pilots and scale up
Establish incubation framework for horizon 2 & 3 technologies to focus on developing PEP specific use cases with strategic vendors
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Provide guidance to vendor partners on PEP use cases
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Co-develop with vendors to evaluate and create stage gate process to pilot in real world scenario
Qualifications:
- Minimum 12-15 years of experience in innovation management, technology partnerships, and program leadership
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Preference to Consulting background/M&A/Venture Capital
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In-depth knowledge and experience with deep tech areas such as AI, machine learning, blockchain, IoT, and advanced analytics
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A strong track record of successfully executing innovation programs, from ideation to POC and full-scale implementation
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Demonstrated success in driving tech adoption of innovation within large organizations
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Ability to build and manage a network of technology partners, VCs, and innovation hubs
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Strong interpersonal and team leadership skills
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Ability to think strategically and translate to action to ‘get things done’
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Experience working in a multinational company with matrix processes and activities
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Experience in leading complex and multi-functional project teams
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Effective communication (written and oral) to senior management
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Flexibility and ability to deal with complexity under time pressure
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Bachelors degree, MBA preferred
