PepsiCo Names Steven Williams Head of North America Division

PepsiCo has appointed Steven Williams in the role of chief executive officer of PepsiCo Foods North America which includes Frito-Lay North America and Quaker Foods North America. Williams is currently senior vice president and chief commercial officer of Frito-Lay’s US operations and will succeed Vivek Sankaran, who will step down on April 12, 2019 to become president and chief executive of Albertsons Cos.

He was recently responsible for leading FLNA’s customer, field and foodservice sales teams, go-to-market strategy and execution, and overseeing an organization of more than 29,000 employees. Previously, he held a role of division vice president for the Eastern Division of Frito-Lay, as global SVP of PepsiCo’s Walmart business, and as head of sales for a number of PepsiCo’s largest food and beverage brands.

Williams came on board PepsiCo in 2001, when the food and snack giant acquired the Quaker Oats Company.

“Steven is the ideal leader for our North America food business, and his appointment is a testament to our strong bench of talent. He has deep knowledge of the industry and our business, and we will greatly benefit from his inspirational leadership, broad customer knowledge, intimacy with consumer trends, and experience developing talent as we build on our already strong foundation,” said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta. “Steven’s appointment comes as Vivek begins another chapter in his career. Under Vivek’s direction, Frito-Lay expanded its position as a category leader, introduced many new and successful products and delivered excellent performance. We have benefited from Vivek’s strategic vision and many contributions over the last decade and are pleased to continue to work with him as he transitions to join one of our largest North America customers,” Laguarta went on.