Donald M. Kendall

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Donald Kendall "is the co-founder of PepsiCo, serving as its Chief Executive Officer for 21 years before retiring in May 1986. Mr. Kendall served as Chairman of the Board’s Executive Committee from 1986 until 1991.

He is a former CEO of Pepsi Cola (which merged with Herman Lay's Frito Lay, Inc. to become PepsiCo in 1965) and served as CEO of PepsiCo from 1971 to 1986. "After serving in World War II as a naval aviator, Kendall began his career at Pepsi-Cola Company as a sales representative. He held the positions of vice president in charge of marketing for the United States and president of the company's overseas operations before being named president and CEO in 1963. In 1965, Kendall engineered the merger of Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, which created PepsiCo. He was then named president and CEO of the new company. Kendall was elected chairman and CEO of PepsiCo in 1971, a position he held until his retirement in 1986. From 1986 to 1991, he served as chairman of the board of PepsiCo's executive committee.

"Throughout his career, Mr. Kendall has been very active in a variety of key cultural, economic and political organizations, both domestically and internationally. Major appointments include: National Alliance of Businessmen (Chairman, 1969; director for eight years); US-USSR Trade and Economic Council (first US Co-Chairman, 1973-1977), Emergency Committee for American Trade (Chairman, 1969-1976), the Chamber of Commerce of the United States (Chairman of the Board, 1981-1982), National Center for Resource Recovery, Inc. (Chairman from 1970 to 1976), Grocery Manufacturers of America (Chairman from 1969-1971) and the American Ballet Theatre Foundation (Chairman of the Board, 1977-1983).

"Mr. Kendall received his undergraduate education at Western Kentucky State College and has earned a number of honorary doctorates in law and humane letters from schools throughout the country." [1]

"Don has an entrepreneurial business background, with a passion for creating and leading startups as well as turnaround companies operating in new, or rapidly evolving market spaces. In 1992, Don left his management consulting practice at McKinsey & Company to open one of the first Pizza Hut restaurants in the Republic of Poland. The company he co-founded, American Restaurants (“AmRest”), today operates nearly 500 restaurants in seven Central and East European markets. With over $1 billion in revenues and over 20,000 employees, Amrest is the largest independent restaurant company in the region.

"In 1997, Don co-founded More.com, an early pioneer in the e-commerce field. While Don was CEO of more.com, he was a founding board member of hotwire.com, a leading e-commerce travel site (now part of Expedia), and also helped his wife start JustGive.org, an internet-based 501(c)3 “giving portal” that has since raised over $100 million for more than 50,000 charities.

"In 2003, Don purchased High Country Passage, a leading operator of high-quality international group tours for top educational institutions such as Stanford, Harvard and Yale University, as well as the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society. Under Don’s leadership, the business doubled its revenues and launched the “World Leaders Symposium,” a unique and groundbreaking series of large (e.g., 250+ participants), ultra-luxury, intensely educational tours, each of which explored a notable current affairs topic with keynote, “off the record” presentations by leading statesmen, including George H.W. Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, and James A. Baker, III.

"More recently, Don has devoted a substantial portion of his time to non profit activities as well as investments. He serves on the boards of the East-West Institute, a non-profit “think-and-do tank” that devises innovative solutions to pressing global security concerns, The Philanthropy Workshop West, a network of philanthropists formed for the purpose of educating and sharing best practices within a close-knit network of donors who share a commitment toward strategic giving, and Andover Breadloaf, an educational outreach program of Phillips Andover Academy focused on the teaching of reading and writing in urban public schools. From 2000-2010, Don was also a member of the Young President's Organization (YPO). Don is a graduate of Stanford University. Don, his wife and three children reside in Weston, CT." [2]

Resources and articles

Related Sourcewatch articles

References

  1. Donald Kendall, International Economic Alliance, accessed January 15, 2008.
  2. Don M. Kendall, organizational web page, accessed January 1, 2013.
  3. Advisory Boards, International Economic Alliance, accessed January 15, 2008.