PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi is the world’s highest-paid female CEO, with a compensation of $25.9 million, the Associated Press reports. Although women make up only 5 percent of the CEO ranks at S&P 500 companies, median compensation for a female CEO was valued at $13.5 million for the 2017 fiscal year, versus $11.5 million for their male counterparts, according to an analysis by executive data firm Equilar done for the AP.
The AP’s compensation study covered 339 executives at S&P 500 companies who have served at least two full consecutive fiscal years at their respective companies, which filed proxy statements between Jan. 1 and April 30. Some companies with highly paid CEOs do not fit these criteria, such as Oracle. Debra Cafaro, CEO of real estate investment trust Ventas came in second at $25.3 million. And Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, wrapped up third.
Nooyi was named president and CEO on Oct.1, 2006 and assumed the role of chairman on May 2, 2007. She has directed the company’s global strategy for more than a decade and led its restructuring, including the divestiture of its restaurants into the successful YUM! Brands, Inc. She also led the acquisition of Tropicana and the merger with Quaker Oats that brought the vital Quaker and Gatorade businesses to PepsiCo, the merger with PepsiCo’s anchor bottlers, and the acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann, the largest international acquisition in PepsiCo’s history.
