Tech Innovation Director, Emerging Markets

PepsiCo

  • Hyderabad, Telangana
  • Permanent
  • Full-time
  • 3 hours ago
Overview:This role is responsible for shaping and executing PepsiCo’s enterprise strategy and innovation agenda across emerging and developing markets. It involves translating long-term strategic priorities into scalable, market-relevant platforms, identifying white space opportunities, and fostering strategic partnerships with global and regional tech players.Key responsibilities include:
  • Enterprise Strategy Development: Define and align enterprise strategy with global priorities, ensuring relevance to high-growth regions and operational feasibility.
  • Innovation Program Leadership: Design and manage end-to-end innovation programs, from terrain selection and vendor scouting to pilot execution and scale-up.
  • Vendor & Pilot Management: Lead the vendor selection process, coordinate proof-of-concept (POC) pilots, and ensure alignment with business needs and legal standards.
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with business leaders and executive sponsors to drive decisions, align innovation with business goals, and report progress.
  • Scale-Up & Incubation: Refine scale-up processes, support implementation, and establish frameworks for incubating Horizon 2 & 3 technologies.
  • Event & Communication Management: Plan and execute key program events, manage internal and external communications, and promote a culture of innovation.
  • Collaboration & Ecosystem Building: Build partnerships with startups, academia, and industry leaders to drive collaborative innovation and research.
Responsibilities:Build Enterprise Strategy for Emerging & Developing Markets
  • Inform and define the future of enterprise strategy for emerging/developing markets, aligned with the key global priorities
  • Translate long-term enterprise strategies into scalable, market-relevant platforms that address the unique dynamics of high-growth regions
  • Connect the needs of emerging markets to PepsiCo’s largest-scale platforms, ensuring strategic alignment and future readiness
  • Identify strategic opportunities and white spaces in developing markets that require tailored platform approaches and unique solutions (e.g., price, implementation etc. to ensure operational fit)
  • Develop strategic partnerships with global and regional tech players to secure access to next-gen platforms for emerging and developing regions
Innovation Program set up
  • Ensure alignment of business unit objectives with the overall innovation strategy and technological feasibility
  • Manage and drive the innovation programs from start to finish, ensuring timely and effective delivery of use cases and POCs
  • Set clear objectives and KPIs for the programs, continuously monitoring progress and adjusting strategy to maximize impact
Manage process selecting vendors for POC/pilotStep 1: Select priority terrains
  • Ensure strategic terrains, ripe for startup tech innovation, are identified and clear briefs developed
  • Support driving full alignment of terrains across organization
Step 2: Meet vendors
  • Ongoing mapping and scouting of the tech landscape
  • Coordinate eco-systems immersions (virtual/in-person) to scout for relevant vendors – right people attend & right timing with effective engagement tools
  • Ensure timely follow-ups with attendees to drive alignment on prioritized vendors and next steps
Step 3: Select vendors
  • Consolidate immersion output (selected vendors, initial use cases etc) for sign off from program executive sponsors
  • Maintain database (CRM) of all startup discussions & status to ensure efficiency for program and ongoing startup engagement
Co-lead, with transformation owners, to ensure well-run POCs/pilotsStep 1: Prepare for kick off
  • Work with advisory to assign business partner to ‘own pilot’ and executive sponsor
  • As needed, navigate org to ensure experts engaged
  • Support initial discussions introducing business partner and vendors
  • Coordinate with Legal all documentation (e.g., NDAs, MOUs) to ensure adherent to PEP standards and protected from IP
Step 2a: Project kick off
  • Facilitate kick-off sessions by
  • Defining use case and objectives for the pilot
  • Setting ways-of-working for rapid decision: e.g., micro-team (DICE framework), milestones, KPIs and timeline)
  • Progress POC/pilot process with weekly business partner calls & monthly senior sponsor calls
  • Act as a bridge between vendors and PEP and remove roadblocks or stepbacks
  • Support vendors & business partners to build effective communications that inspire PEP engagement with the startup (e.g., well written presentations/videos on case for action and opportunity for PepsiCo)
  • Consolidate communications for ongoing advisory updates
Step 2b: Use case discovery (when needed, for relevant technologies that are cross functional)
  • Showcase technology internally to PEP experts to discover use-cases
  • Work closely with business leaders – business partners and executive sponsors - to drive decisions
  • Provide external lens to help shape and refine focus areas
  • Develop process flows to identify opportunities for innovation
  • Lead process for post pilot evaluation and scale-up recommendation
  • Engage and manage internal stakeholders across various departments, ensuring alignment on program goals and outcomes
  • Regularly report to senior leadership on the progress of innovation initiatives, highlighting key achievements, challenges, and opportunities
  • Provide thought leadership on industry trends, emerging technologies, and innovation best practices.
Refine design of scale up process and support implementation of scale up
  • Refine design of scale-up process
  • Guide business owner through the process and best practices
Lead planning & execution of key program events – immersion sessions, kick-offs, interim & final events with senior leaders and vendors
  • Design and execute effective and engaging immersion session
  • Coordinate and lead thorough debriefs with internal attendees and drive selection of vendors to progress to pilot
  • Design program kick-off and events – multi-day events with broad range of attendees
Collaboration Management
  • Build strong, mutually beneficial partnerships with industry leaders, start-ups, and academic institutions to drive collaborative research, development, and pilot programs
  • Manage relationships with internal business units, aligning innovation initiatives with business needs and challenges
Create ongoing and inspiring communications on progress to gain executive support & continue infusing innovation culture
  • Support executive updates on priority use cases, project status and lessons learned
  • Sector comms on progress with successful pilots and scale up
Establish incubation framework for horizon 2 & 3 technologies to focus on developing PEP specific use cases with strategic vendorsProvide guidance to vendor partners on PEP use cases * Co-develop with vendors to evaluate and create stage gate process to pilot in real world scenarioQualifications:
  • Minimum 12-15 years of experience in innovation management, technology partnerships, and program leadership
  • Preference to Consulting background/M&A/Venture Capital
  • In-depth knowledge and experience with deep tech areas such as AI, machine learning, blockchain, IoT, and advanced analytics
  • A strong track record of successfully executing innovation programs, from ideation to POC and full-scale implementation
  • Demonstrated success in driving tech adoption of innovation within large organizations
  • Ability to build and manage a network of technology partners, VCs, and innovation hubs
  • Strong interpersonal and team leadership skills
  • Ability to think strategically and translate to action to ‘get things done’
  • Experience working in a multinational company with matrix processes and activities
  • Experience in leading complex and multi-functional project teams
  • Effective communication (written and oral) to senior management
  • Flexibility and ability to deal with complexity under time pressure
  • Bachelors degree, MBA preferred

PepsiCo