Tech Innovation Director, Emerging Markets

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/pilot

Step 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/pilots

Step 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 vendors

• Provide guidance to vendor partners on PEP use cases
• Co-develop with vendors to evaluate and create stage gate process to pilot in real world scenario
  
  

Qualifications

• 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