Pepsi appoints Jaya Kumar as president of Quaker Foods

The US-based food and beverages giant PepsiCo has named Indian-born senior executive Jaya Kumar as president of its $2-billion Quaker Foods and Snacks division.

In his role as president, Kumar will lead the segment, which includes brands such as Quaker hot cereals and Aunt Jemima syrups and mixes.

Kumar joined PepsiCo in 2005 and worked at the company's Frito-Lay North American unit, most recently as chief marketing officer.

Based in Chicago, he will report to PepsiCo Americas Foods CEO John Compton.

"Jaya brings a powerful combination of innovation, marketing and retail capabilities to his new role at Quaker," said Compton. "As our global mega-brand for health and wellness, Quaker is the jewel of our good-for-you portfolio of food brands. Jaya's passion for growth, coupled with his deep expertise in consumer and shopping insights, is an unbeatable recipe for taking Quaker through its next chapter of growth."

Prior to joining PepsiCo's Frito-Lay business, Kumar had 18 years of international and domestic brand management and sales experience with a number of consumer goods companies such as at Kraft Foods.

He earned a BS from The University of Sciences in Bangalore, and received his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.