Indra Nooyi Becomes First Independent Woman Director on International Cricket Council Board

Pepsico chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi was announced on Feb. 9 as the International Cricket Council (ICC) board’s independent chairman. Nooyi will be the organization’s first woman director when she joins ICC board in June this year.

The introduction of a female independent director for a two-year term was approved by the ICC Full Council in June 2017. This was a part of wide-ranging constitutional change aimed at improving the global governance of the sport .

ICC chairman Shashank Manohar said in a statement: “We are delighted to welcome Indra to the ICC. Adding another independent director – particularly a female – is such an important step forward in improving our governance. To have someone of Indra’s caliber is fantastic news for the global game – she is frequently recognized as one of the most influential people in business today, running one of the world’s biggest corporations.”

He further said: “We undertook a global search looking for the right candidate who would complement the existing skills and experience already on our Board. A cricket enthusiast with experience in the commercial sector and independent of the ICC, any Member or state or associated organization were the primary criteria and in Indra we have found an exceptional new colleague and we look forward to working with her in the future.”

Nooyi, a Chennai-born resident of Connecticut in the United States, said about her appointment: “I love the game of cricket. I played it as a teenager and in college, and to this day, I cherish the lessons the game taught me about teamwork, integrity, respect, and healthy competition. I am thrilled to join the ICC as the first person to be appointed to this role. And I look forward to working with my colleagues on the board, ICC’s incredible partners, and cricketers around the world to grow our sport responsibly and give our fans a new reason to follow every ball and shot.”

Nooyi, who took over as the chairman and CEO of PepsiCo in 2006, has consistently featured on the Fortune magazine’s list of the World’s Most Powerful Women.

Recently, Nooyi found herself embroiled in a controversy over an off-the-cuff remark she made in a Freakonomics podcast about how men and women eat chips differently. Her comments about how “women would not like crunch chips too loudly” or “lick their fingers the way men do” created a storm on Twitter with assumptions made on PepsiCo’s Doritos plans to make crunch-free chips for women.

Doritos clarified it on Twitter on Feb. 6, posting: “We already have Doritos for women — they are called Doritos and are loved by millions.”