The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : From MCC to MNC

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 17, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

From MCC to MNC

Priscilla Jebaraj

Indra Nooyi

CHENNAI : A mischievous girl "always talking nineteen to the dozen". A very "active and bubbly" student. That's hardly what you would expect to find on the resume of one of the world's top CEOs. But for Indra Nooyi's former college mates, her chirpy enthusiasm is what they remember best.

Ms. Nooyi, who will take over as cola giant Pepsico's Chief Executive Officer this October, started her journey to the top of corporate America right here in Chennai. Her class photograph still hangs on the walls of her alma mater Madras Christian College, showing her as the "tall, slim girl" she once was. According to her college senior and current MCC principal V.J. Philip, "she showed a flair for leadership" even as a B.Sc student in the early 1970s.

Ms. Nooyi is remembered as an above average student, but she filled her college days with more than lectures. "Some of us were very studious, but she was very versatile, very active on all fronts," says former classmate Wilfred Sugumar, currently the head of MCC's Chemistry Department. He reminisces about the Bollywood hit songs she used to entertain her classmates with, accompanying herself on her guitar.

Marketing and management experience came early for Ms. Nooyi. During her college days, the Chemistry department used to publish a magazine, which needed advertising support. "Indra would come with us to plead for ads from different companies, then MNCs... she would travel with us in buses, trains," says Dr. Philip, adding she was always there to help out.

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