Lal's new mantra: Health is wealth

She is one of the rare breed who have worked for both the companies whose global beverages war is what legends are made of — Pepsico and Coke.

After five years as the executive director of marketing for Pepsi, Punita Lal, the studious St Stephen's economics graduate, is taking up a new challenge. This time she does not have to face the onslaught from NGOs on the adverse impact of carbonated drinks on consumers. Lal will take over as the CEO of the joint venture between Pepsico and Tata Tea, which is being set up for India but whose tentacles will be across the globe. The mandate of the new company: Create non-carbonated beverages based on the health and wellness platform.

An IIM Calcutta alumni, Lal was a young executive in advertising firm JWT where she worked on the popular campaign “Are You Ready for the Magic”, which helped Pepsico launch in India under Ramesh Vangal’s stewardship. Lal is now getting into the wellness and health platform of beverages, where the next battle of the big boys is going to happen. She is surely cut out for the new challenge.