My decision to move on was purely personal: Manu Anand

Q&A with erstwhile region president, PepsiCo India

55-year-old Manu Anand, the region president of PepsiCo India, dramatically called it a day on June 20, sending shockwaves in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry of which he was a part for nearly 30 years. Starting as a financial controller at paints major ICI India, which is now Akzo Nobel, Anand, who graduated from St Stephen's College in Delhi with Physics honours, worked there for 11 years, before moving as chief financial officer of PepsiCo's foods arm Frito-Lay in 1994.

He eventually assumed the role of managing director of Frito-Lay India in 1998 moving on to a global position as PepsiCo's general manager, South East Asia Business Unit, nine years later. Based out of Thailand, Anand was responsible for the food and beverage business in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands.

He continued in this role till 2010 before being called back to India as chairman & CEO of PepsiCo in 2011, following the elevation of incumbent Sanjeev Chadha as the company's chief for the Middle East & Africa regions. In this interview with Viveat Susan Pinto, Anand speaks about his future course of action a day after his departure. Excerpts:

There is speculation that you are relocating to Dubai and that this could happen shortly. Can you confirm or deny this?

I am taking a short break at this point. Yes, I am evaluating a few options. But I cannot tell you anything at the moment.

Your departure was sudden and most link it to PepsiCo's struggles in the beverage business, where it has lagged Coca-Cola. Your expectation that the Indian Premier League (IPL) would help revive sales of your brands didn't quite work. Your comments on this?

I am bound by a confidentiality clause, which prevents me from discussing anything about PepsiCo.

Your tenure was marred by mid to senior levels exits and some of them were acrimonious. In hindsight, do you think this could have been handled better?

I cannot comment about PepsiCo since I am no longer part of the organisation. But to clarify, my decision to move on was purely personal. I wanted an early retirement since I had been with the company for nineteen years.

Will you continue in the FMCG industry or are you evaluating options outside the industry as well?

I am yet to crystallise what I propose to do next. I hope to do that in due course of time.