Washington, July 9 (IANS) Indra Nooyi, the India born CEO of beverage giant Pepsico, is ranked fourth among 15 Fortune 500 Women CEOs who “show what it takes to lead some of the America’s biggest companies” from health care, to food, to retail, to technology.
Since becoming CEO in 2006, Indra Nooyi, 53, who gets a compensation of $13.4 million has grown the company’s top line — revenue rose 10 percent in 2008 to $43.3 billion — and raised its profile in some goodwill-engendering arenas, Fortune noted.

Nooyi has pushed PepsiCo to target health-conscious and female consumers, resulting in such new products as Smartfood’s low-fat popcorn clusters, low-calorie Trop 50, and Starbucks Frappuccino Lite, it said.

While Pepsi was forced to cut 3,500 jobs and close six plants last year, Nooyi has announced big expansions abroad: $500 million in India, $1 billion in China, and $3 billion in Mexico.

PepsiCo will also spend $1.2 billion over the next three years to boost the sales of carbonated soft drinks — including brands such as Pepsi and Mountain Dew — in North America.

In the Fortune 500 list dominated by male CEOs, Patricia Woertz, who spent three decades working in the oil industry before joining Archer Daniels Midland and becoming the highest ranking woman CEO on the list, the US business magazine said.