PURCHASE, N.Y., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PepsiCo, Inc., (NYSE: PEP) today announced that Heidi Kleinbach-Sauter, Ph.D., will join PepsiCo as senior vice president, R&D Global Foods, reporting to Dr. Mehmood Khan, PepsiCo chief scientific officer and John Compton, CEO, PepsiCo Americas Foods.

In this role, Kleinbach-Sauter will have global operating responsibility for the R&D global foods and snacks business, including accelerating innovation and developing products with functional advantages while continuing to apply credible science to enhance the broad product portfolio of PepsiCo's powerful brands.

"We are very pleased to welcome Heidi, who brings a strong science-based expertise to this critical role," said Dr. Khan. "I'm confident she will be instrumental in the continued development of differentiated innovation in our global foods and snacks business."

Most recently, Kleinbach-Sauter served as senior vice president of product innovation for Altria Client Services, leading an R&D team of scientists, researchers and engineers focused on product innovation. Previously, she was senior vice president of R&D at Sara Lee Food and Beverage and Foodservice in Chicago. She also led R&D, Quality and Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for the Mueller Dairy Group in Germany after starting her career with the Campina Group, a top dairy company in Europe.

Kleinbach-Sauter earned her Ph.D. in Food Science, Food Technology and Nutrition from the universities of Giessen and Stuttgart in Germany. She will be based in Plano, Texas, and will begin her new position on October 19.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in over 200 countries. With more than $43 billion in 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs 198,000 people who are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE PepsiCo

SOURCE: PepsiCo

Web site: http://www.pepsico.com/