Dive Summary:
- PepsiCo on Monday announced the death of 59-year-old Saad Abdul-Latif, who had been serving as CEO for PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA).
- Abdul-Latif had spent 30 years working for PepsiCo, having taken on the CEO role for AMEA in November 2009, overseeing operations in more than 90 countries.
- Umran Beba, who has been serving as PepsiCo AMEA's chief human resources officer, will be the region's acting head while the company searches for Abdul-Latif's successor.
Dive Insight:
AMEA accounted for $7.4 million in revenues for PepsiCo in 2011, highlighting the importance of the region to PepsiCo globally. While North American beverage sales have been suffering, Asia, the Middle East and Africa saw a 9% increase in sales volume in the company's earnings results for 2013's second quarter.