Indra Nooyi quotes

Indra Nooyi is an Indian businesswoman renowned for her leadership as the former CEO of PepsiCo. Her strategic vision transformed PepsiCo into a more health-conscious and globally diverse company. She continues to inspire as a role model for women and minorities in corporate leadership. Here are 57 of her quotes:

I grew up in a Hindu household but went to a Roman Catholic school. I grew up with a mother who said, 'I'll arrange a marriage for you at 18,' but she also said that we could achieve anything we put our minds to and encourage us to dream of becoming prime minister or president.

Indra Nooyi

As a leader, I am tough on myself and I raise the standard for everybody; however, I am very caring because I want people to excel at what they are doing so that they can aspire to be me in the future.

Indra Nooyi

Anything that's done to address unemployment in terms of massive stimulus spending is going to exacerbate deficits. And anything that's done to address deficits in the short-term is going to exacerbate unemployment.

Indra Nooyi

When you assume negative intent, you're angry. If you take away that anger and assume positive intent, you will be amazed. Your emotional quotient goes up because you are no longer almost random in your response.

Indra Nooyi

The distance between number one and number two is always a constant. If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself and the organization gets pulled up with you. That is a big lesson. I cannot just expect the organization to improve if I don't improve myself and lift the organization, because that distance is a constant.

Indra Nooyi

The one thing I have learned as a CEO is that leadership at various levels is vastly different. When I was leading a function or a business, there were certain demands and requirements to be a leader. As you move up the organization, the requirements for leading that organization don't grow vertically; they grow exponentially.

Indra Nooyi

When I grew up there was no web, blogging or tweeting. In fact, where I grew up there was not even television! I met a lot of my friends in school and in college, and they are still my friends today.

Indra Nooyi

I pick up the details that drive the organization insane. But sweating the details is more important than anything else.

Indra Nooyi

My father was an absolutely wonderful human being. From him I learned to always assume positive intent. Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent.

Indra Nooyi

I'm very honest - brutally honest. I always look at things from their point of view as well as mine. And I know when to walk away.

Indra Nooyi

Do you remember campaigns like Keep America Beautiful? What about ‘buckle up'? I believe we need an approach like this to attack obesity. Let us be good industry that does 100% of what is possibly can-not grudgingly, but willingly.

Indra Nooyi

We are in a bit of a policy box and it's going to require us being willing to give up one of the two, which is it's okay to take on more deficits but lets put in some massive spending. Alternatively to say, 'we're going to go through structural unemployment for a while because we want to address deficits.

Indra Nooyi

There were many times that I felt like a fish out of water, times that I really said to myself, 'do I even fit in.

Indra Nooyi

Each of us in the US - the long middle finger - must be careful that we extend our arm in either a business or political sense, we take pains to assure that we are giving a hand, not the finger. Unfortunately, I think this is how the reset of the world looks at the US right now. Not as part of the hand-giving strength and purpose to the rest of the fingers –but instead scratching our nose and sending a signal.

Indra Nooyi

I have an immigrant mentality, which is that the job can be taken away at any time, so make sure you earn it every day...immigrants come here they have no safety net-zero. I landed here with $500 in my pocket. I had no one here to pay for me.

Indra Nooyi

Bring together what is good for business with what is good for the world.

Indra Nooyi

Aristotle once said that the unexamined life is not worth living. I think it's time to examine what we do once more in the spirit of a critical friend. Let's pause for a moment to consider what we need to examine.

Indra Nooyi

You cannot deliver value unless you anchor the company's values. Values make an unsinkable ship.

Indra Nooyi

The CEO has to think long-term and needs to understand the way public and private sectors are coming together and work constructively within that framework. CEOs need to make the phrase "think global and act local" more than a cliche?

Indra Nooyi

Our hope is that whosoever is in power, manages this country consistently for all the potential the country has.

Indra Nooyi

I have no comments on political situations. I speak as the CEO of a large multinational company. Countries like India should be successful for the long term because India needs growth.

Indra Nooyi

As a CEO, I am finding that I have to become a learning CEO. I have to go to school all the time because I am learning new skills that I need to run this company and I am realising that I am not equipped to just coast, I have to constantly renew my skills.

Indra Nooyi