PepsiCo's EVP of Global R&D Speaks about Delivering Growth for Tomorrow

Boston, MA (May 21, 2014) – PepsiCo, one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, is transforming its portfolio, which feeds a billion consumers daily and across every continent, to be a catalyst for delivering growth opportunities for today and tomorrow. At the Industrial Research Institute’s (IRI) 2014 Annual Meeting, R&D as MVP, Dr. Mehmood Khan, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at PepsiCo Global R&D, addressed how his organization is approaching the profound changes and challenges occurring in the food and beverage marketplace.

“The R&D and supply side complexities faced by food and beverage companies contain significant challenges to how we connect, organize and deliver products globally,” said IRI president Ed Bernstein. “Companies like PepsiCo show us how these challenges are solved through collaboration and forward thinking.”

In a meeting of over 350 R&D management professionals, Dr. Khan’s keynote sparked a lively conversation about how global R&D business models can adapt to the fast pace of today’s business landscape. The unique challenges to companies with diverse and complex supply chains of perishable goods offers R&D departments the chance to explore a variety of solutions and their cross-functional applications inside and outside of the organization. Recognizing the potential of these innovations allows organizations to develop state-of-the-art platforms for future growth.

“As consumers, we value quality, convenience and affordability, but we may not give much thought to what happens ‘behind the scenes’ to efficiently make our food and deliver it to the local grocer,” said IRI Chair Dr. Martha Collins, Director of Global Technology Centers, Air Products. “Dr. Khan reminds us how organizations like PepsiCo are innovating daily new ways to increase our food supply and deliver it to us quickly and safely.”

About IRI
Based in Arlington, VA, IRI represents over 200 companies from diverse industry segments. It networks leading practitioners of R&D management in order to strengthen technological innovation. IRI is a member of the World Federation of Industrial Research Associations (W-FIRA), a collaboration of six similar organizations around the world working towards a common goal: enhancing the effectiveness of technological innovation and R&D management. To learn more about becoming a member of IRI, visit www.iriweb.org or call (703) 647-2580.