Ram Krishnan

Ram Krishnan

Program
MBA ‘06
SVP and Chief Customer Officer,
Company
PepsiCo
Career Background

Ram Krishnan is currently the SVP/Chief Customer Officer leading all global PepsiCo business in the Walmart account, sustaining $10B in sales through retail stores, e-commerce channels, and warehouse channels. The business operates in 27 countries and is comprised of Walmart U.S, Walmart International, and Sam’s Club.

Prior to this role,  Krishnan was the chief marketing officer for Frito-Lay North America, where he led strategic business plans for the division and Frito-Lay’s marketing disciplines, including brand strategy, advertising, customer marketing, insights and category management, innovation, e-commerce, design, and digital studios. He envisioned and executed a roadmap outlining the evolution of the marketing function and created the era of the marketing technologist, seamlessly blending traditional marketing principles and data with the advantages, reach, and agility of new technologies to maximize revenue growth.

Prior to Frito-Lay, Krishnan spent six years at Cadillac and was part of the team that turned around the Cadillac brand.  He launched and built Cadillac Escalade into a pop cultural icon.

Krishnan holds an MBA from University of Michigan and an MS and BS in engineering. Forbes named him one of the “World’s Most Influential CMOs,” and Business Insider named him one of the “Most Creative People in Social Media Marketing.” Krishnan’s work has also won many product innovation and advertising industry awards. He is most proud of Frito Lay making the Ad Age Marketer A-List, which is awarded to the Top 10 Marketers of the year and is considered one of the biggest honors in the U.S. marketing industry.