October 26/Mumbai, India/The Times of India -- In key top-level changes announced by Pepsi-Co, its CEO for South East Asia, Manu Anand, will take over as chairman & CEO, PepsiCo's India region from the current incumbent, Sanjeev Chadha, with effect from January 1, 2011.

Chadha will take over as PepsiCo's chief for the Middle East & Africa, the company said in a release. He will also be a member of PepsiCo's global leadership team: the PepsiCo Executive Committee. Chadha's new area of responsibility -- Middle East & Africa -- is one of the largest and most profitable regions of PepsiCo, and is headquartered in Dubai.

Anand, on the other hand, moves into the new role from Thailand, where he was responsible for the foods and beverages business in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands. Anand, who has been with PepsiCo for 16 years, has driven significant growth of itsfoods businesses across South East Asia, including the rapid expansion of snacks in Thailand, their snacks entry into the promising new market of Vietnam, and innovative launches in Indonesia, the company noted in a release.

PepsiCo also announced the appointment of Varun Berry, as chief executive of PepsiCo's Foods business in India. Berry, who has been with PepsiCo for 17 years, is currently the CEO of International Dairy & Juice, a joint venture between PepsiCo and Al Marai.

Chadha was one of the founding members of the PepsiCo business in India 20 years ago and has since played an important role in developing PepsiCo businesses across several countries, besides India.Sanjeev spent over a decade in Hong Kong, leading PepsiCo in different countries and functions across Asia-Pacific, before returning to India in 2007.

A third of PepsiCo's portfolio at present comprises much healthier products like Quaker oats, Tropicana Juices, Gatorade sports drinks and Pepsi Max.

From the November 15, 2010, Prepared Foods E-dition