PepsiCo MEA president wins CEO of the Year – Consumer Goods at CEO Middle East Awards

Press release

Published September 16th, 2014 - 06:18 GMT

Al Bawaba

PepsiCo MEA President, Omar Farid has been awarded CEO of the Year - Consumer Goods at the CEO Middle East Awards 2014 for his contribution to growing the brand across the Middle East.

Farid, a PepsiCo veteran who has served with the company for more than three decades, received the award at a glittering ceremony at Dubai’s Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel.

Editor of CEO Middle East, Neil King, said: “Omar Farid has played an integral role in the PepsiCo business here in the region since his appointment as MEA President last year, not just in terms of growing the business but also contributing towards new regional product innovations.

“The CEO Middle East awards demonstrate the high quality of leadership here in the Middle East and I look forward to seeing how the business community will shape the economy over the next 12 months,” he added.

Farid, who was appointed MEA President in 2013, began his PepsiCo career as a senior field representative in Egypt in 1983. Over the last 30 years, he has held a number of senior leadership PepsiCo positons including General Manager, Saudi Snacks Foods Limited and General Manager for PepsiCo East Mediterranean and North Africa. In addition to strategic planning and oversight responsibilities, Farid is in charge of all business units and plans to achieve PepsiCo’s objectives in the region.

PepsiCo’s portfolio now stands for more 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. In the Middle East, its brand portfolio comprises well-known brands such as Pepsi, 7Up, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, as well as Quaker and Aquafina.

Background Information

Pepsi Cola International

In 1965, Donald Kendall, the CEO of Pepsi-Cola, and Herman Lay, the CEO of Frito-Lay, recognized what they called “a marriage made in heaven,” a single company delivering perfectly-salty snacks served alongside the best cola on earth. Their vision led to what quickly became one of the world's leading food and beverage companies: PepsiCo.

For more than 50 years, as tastes, trends and lifestyles have changed, PepsiCo has evolved with them. Our willingness to adapt and grow has transformed our snack and soda company into a collection of global brands including Pepsi and Quaker, Gatorade and Tropicana, Frito-Lay and beyond. Today, PepsiCo is one of the world’s most-respected companies with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories and 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.