The Chairman and Board of the Arab International Women’s Forum extend their warmest congratulations to Eugene Willemsen on his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, Africa, Middle East, South Asia, PepsiCo.
Since 2015, Eugene Willemsen has served on the PepsiCo Executive Committee, reporting to the Chairman and CEO. Over the past two decades, Eugene has earned a reputation as a transformative leader who can harness the power of diverse teams to create high-performing businesses and some of the world’s most resonate brands.
Most recently, Eugene served as Chief Executive Officer, Sub-Saharan Africa, PepsiCo. From 2015 to 2019, he served as Executive Vice President of Global Categories & Franchise Management where he was responsible for the strategic direction of PepsiCo’s global categories and brands as well as PepsiCo’s global commercial functions, during which he oversaw a period of strong growth.
Prior to that, Eugene led the company’s global tea joint venture with Unilever, which operates in roughly 120 countries worldwide, following more than a decade leading PepsiCo businesses in Europe. He has served as SVP, general manager for PepsiCo’s South East Europe business, overseeing operations in 17 countries, including Turkey; SVP, Commercial for PepsiCo Europe, heading up the Marketing & Sales functions across Europe for all lines of business; SVP, general manager for PepsiCo Northern Europe; and General Manager of PepsiCo’s snack business in the Benelux and Belgium. Eugene joined PepsiCo from Unilever in 1995.
Eugene holds a BBA from Nijenrode University in the Netherlands, a MSc in Economics from the “VU University” in Amsterdam and an Executive MBA from INSEAD. He has been a Board Member of the ANA, the AdCouncil and the Dutch Grocery Manufacturers Association, where he served as its Chairman. In 2017, he was named one of the ‘25 Most Influential People in the Netherlands at 50’.
On behalf of the Board of AIWF, Haifa Al Kaylani has written to Mr Willemsen to extend AIWF’s deepest appreciation to PepsiCo for the continued and valued support and endorsement as AIWF’s Exclusive Global Benefactor Partner. AIWF’s growing outreach in the international development community and the positive impact of our initiatives on women’s leadership and development in the region and beyond have only been possible because of the partnership and support of PepsiCo and all our valued Global and Institutional Partners over the last 19 years.
AIWF is proud to continue our close cooperation and partnership with the esteemed PepsiCo leadership on all matters of mutual concern, including economic empowerment for women and future young leaders, food sustainability and water scarcity.
