Kent Montgomery’s Post

Recently, I had the opportunity to highlight PepsiCo's dedication to supporting communities and enhancing its business initiatives with Multicultural consumers and diverse-owned suppliers on two significant platforms. At the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America "It Takes Little to Be Big" National Conference in Dallas, PepsiCo's comprehensive community efforts were showcased across its brands, local divisions, and through the PepsiCo Foundation. I also shared our family’s personal journey mentoring our Little Brother, Jeff. Additionally, I addressed attendees at PepsiCo’s second annual Supplier Diversity Summit, underscoring the strategic importance of supplier diversity across various functions including Multicultural, Marketing, PR, Supply Chain, Procurement, Sustainability, and Operations. This event brought together our top current and future diverse suppliers, highlighting their engagement and contributions to expanding our supplier network. The summit offered valuable thought leadership from PepsiCo leaders, networking opportunities, workshops, and more. I look forward to forging stronger partnerships with both new and existing suppliers, as we collaborate to better serve PepsiCo’s consumers and support the growth of their businesses. It's a mutually beneficial relationship that we are dedicated to nurturing and proud to participate in. B. Dienye Benibo, Michael Alexander, Arpit G., Kelly Nayak, Monica Bauer Mengelberg, Esperanza Teasdale, Jillian Djukic, Ti'Ara Brown, Ashley N. Booker, Victoria Lambert, Artis Stevens, Deborah Barge, CFRE, Valeria Rivas, Floyd Ferjuste

  I am humbled and honored to be able to celebrate this year’s Top Women in Grocery (TWIG) and Top Women in Convenience (TWIC) winners and award recipients! These nine women have demonstrated great leadership skills, have taken our sales organization to the next level, and are serving as great examples to other women who are rising to the top. These women make PepsiCo better everyday and excel in their service to our customers and consumers.    Congratulations to Julie Smevoll, Katie Wallace, Ariella Weiss, Katie Clookie, Emily Kiely, Catherine Davis, Julia Banducci, Julie Smanda, and Katie Schiavone for this well-deserved recognition! We look forward to celebrating with you on this accomplishment and can’t wait to see what other things you’ll do for PepsiCo!   Ram Krishnan, Steven Williams, Bryan Santee, Cara Keating, Chris Yemma, Valeria Rivas, Aralyn Veatch,  Progressive Grocer, Convenience Store News

Congratulations to Javier Zaragoza from Fairplay Foods for earning PepsiCo’s Diversity scholarship to attend the National Grocers Association’s Executive Leadership Development Program!   Thanks to PepsiCo, Javier along with 38 National Grocers Association participants, learned leadership and decision-making best practices to bring back to their organizations.    PepsiCo has participated in programs that exemplify diversity in leadership because having a diversity of thought is a foundation of who we are, as it fosters growth and helps take our organization and the diverse communities served by the grocery industry to the next level.    A special shout out to John Sciple for representing us at the NGA ELDP’s Welcome Reception. Let’s continue to support our grocers' talent and the communities we live in to propel future success!   Ram Krishnan, Bryan Santee, Steven Williams, Cara Keating, Chris Yemma, Valeria Rivas, Aralyn Veatch, Meredith Wiktorowski, Matt Dennett, Mike Ruff   

What an exciting last couple of days we had at the 2024 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago!    I’m proud to say we once again presented PepsiCo’s portfolio and foodservice equipment to our customers, who are our top priority and always at the center. We also showcased our broader capabilities such as PepsiCo Foodservice Digital Lab, which is grounded in insights and facilitated by strategic partnerships, focused on driving operator growth, in a fun and interactive booth experience.    A special thanks to our amazing Industry Relations, Design, and Foodservice teams and to all of the #PepsiCo leaders who attended #NRA and made this happen. Thank you all for helping us win together!   Anne Fink, Scott Finlow, Hugh Roth, Tameka McBride, Sumi (Paek) DeBenedittis, Aralyn Veatch, Lori Perricelli, Ricky Barto, Michael Goldblatt, Namu Kim, Justin Schwarz, André Moraes, Cara Keating, Bryan Santee    #PepsiCoProud #2024RestaurantShow

Did you know that while pricing is important to the Hispanic Consumer, things like Brand Reputation are even more critical to them than other shoppers? Our #pepviz data and analytics proprietary practice has helped us gather interesting findings on our consumers that help us reiterate our commitment towards consumer centricity. Learn why Brand Reputation is so important to the Hispanic Shopper here: https://bit.ly/pepviz_data  

This Mother’s Day weekend felt a little different with the recent passing of my mom, but being at Pepsi x Mary J. Blige’s Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit gave me space to reflect on the remarkable women, and mothers, who influence me and the world daily. This year, I traveled to NYC with my wife and son to see our partnership with Mary in action—including tasty bites from women-owned restaurants brought together by Pepsi Dig In, music performances by some of my favorite artists and panel discussions on encouraging financial freedom, maintaining mental health and cultivating lasting friendships.     The partnership and programming reinforced the power of having women behind the scenes and on the stages… and was all done by centering and elevating the community. My mother raised four strong women of her own, and in bringing us up, she taught us the significance of uplifting and supporting women in all aspects of our lives. And while her physical presence was missed this weekend, the presence of her love was strongly felt, cementing the need to cherish time together. I hope that all moms and bonus moms were able to get quality time with their families and enjoy the love and recognition they deserve.    Thank you to my team for another successful year at Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit!    Victoria Lambert, Jillian Djukic, Ti'Ara Brown, Tiffaine Stephens, Kelly Romano, Kirstie Turner, Aralyn Austin, Jammil Telfort, Todd Kaplan, Kim Pepe, Jenny Danzi, Alison (LaFleur) Meade, Taylor Heath, Genevieve Ascencio Alcinay👩🏾💻, Rena Daum, C.D. Glin, Ram Krishnan, Monica Bauer Mengelberg, Scott Finlow, Reginald Goins, Derek Hill, Karen Jordan, Bryan Santee, Kalen Thornton, Katie Haniffy, Greg Lyons, Stacy Taffet, Acceleration Community of Companies (ACC), Fuse

Having a holistic understanding of the consumer is one of the most valuable pieces of the puzzle for our retail and convenience store partners. This is why PepsiCo’s #pepviz is excited to share data & insights on the unique cultural forms fueling the explosive growth in Hispanic buying power ��� the life-affirming and life-extending family dynamics researchers call “familismo”.     Throughout a new Hispanic Shopper campaign, #pepviz has been revealing some interesting findings like lifetime spending on at-home food and beverages and why purchasing products from reputable companies is so important to the Hispanic consumer. Insights like these allow our business’ and our customers’ growth while demonstrating the cultural importance of family rituals in informing Hispanic shoppers’ buying habits.    Thanks to our pepviz team for this spotlight and to our food and beverages Hispanic Business Units who bring our Latin American local renowned, loved and authentic brands like Sabritas, Gamesa, Manzanita Sol and Natuchips to the U.S. Stay tuned for more!     Check out more at the link HERE: https://bit.ly/pepviz24   #PepsiCoProud    Bryan Santee, Cara Keating, Kate Garner, Ellen Webb,  Erin Ness Cathey, Ryan Sexton,  Chris Yemma,  Valeria Rivas,  Shannon Amundson, Antonio Escalona, Esperanza Teasdale  

Last week, Mary J. Blige and Pepsi announced the Pepsi x Mary J. Blige Strength of a Woman Community Fund of $100,000 to support programs and initiatives that uplift women in Yonkers, Mary’s hometown.     Going into our third year as a festival partner and co-presenter of the Mary J. Blige Strength of Woman Festival and Summit, we’re continuing to support and honor the global icon by giving back to women in the community where she got her start. The launch of this fund exemplifies our shared vision that defined the partnership and brings the event’s purpose of empowerment, elevation, and education to life for the community. Created in partnership with United Way of Westchester and Putnam, the Pepsi x Mary J. Blige Strength of a Woman Community Fund is open to Yonkers-based non-profit organizations addressing the needs of underserved and marginalized women, providing micro-grants to eligible organizations.    With the PepsiCo Foundation, we also hosted a community day of service for the women of Yonkers with empowerment workshops, a shopping spree, other gifts to provide the women with business essentials... and a surprise visit from Mary J. Blige, herself!    Thank you to the PepsiCo Multicultural and Foundation teams and our Women of Color employee resource group for their hard work in bringing this to life. We’re thrilled to continue our work together to bring long-lasting resources to the community through the organizations that serve its needs and are looking forward to another incredible festival this Mother’s Day weekend.    For more information visit: https://lnkd.in/g_prEKAB   C.D. Glin, Monica Bauer Mengelberg, Victoria Lambert, Jillian Djukic,Ti'Ara Brown, Kirstie Turner, Charlene Denizard, Sheri Morgan, ABC, Aralyn Austin, Kelly Romano, Todd Kaplan, Kim Pepe, Jenny Danzi, Alison (LaFleur) Meade,Taylor Heath, Bryan Santee, Acceleration Community of Companies (ACC), Fuse

This past weekend, I was proud to visit Jackson State University to help bring STARRY Fizz Fest - our twist on a basketball skills competition - to campus with rapper, basketball fan and HBCU supporter Lil Durk, as a fun surprise for the students. The Tigers got a shot at a piece of the more than $333,000 in prizes and scholarships we’re giving out across four HBCUs this spring.     To no surprise, Jackson State brought the energy and competitive spirit to the challenge! I’ve enjoyed watching my team uplift and celebrate HBCU talent and offer students scholarships and opportunities to drive long-term impact to the community.    Next up: Morgan State on April 26! Then the four winners from Norfolk State, Hampton, Jackson State and Morgan State will represent their schools and go head-to-head for our first STARRY NIL deal open to non-student-athletes to become the face of next year’s competition, plus a trip to NBA Tip-Off.     Thank you again to the Multicultural and STARRY teams, Brown Bottling Group, the PepsiCo Beverages North America South Division and all of our other partners for making this happen, and to the amazing students at Jackson State for coming out to see us!     Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gGi9CuRT    #PepsiCoProud Ram Krishnan, Bryan Santee, C.D. Glin, Monica Bauer Mengelberg, Greg Lyons, Michael Smith, Kirstie Turner, Ashley N. Booker, Briana Jones, Kelly Romano, Jillian Djukic, Ti'Ara Brown, Ashley De Jesus, Victoria Lambert, Yasmin Grant, Louis DeCosmo, Rachael Feldman, Darrin Morris, David Ward, Shelley Brown Floyd, Heather Hoytink, Somer Benton, Erica Smith, TEN35, Acceleration Community of Companies (ACC), Webber Marketing and Consulting, LLC