Ramon Laguarta, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo: “Winning in a world of change means rethinking growth”

“Winning in a changing world means rethinking how we grow: preparing our business model for the future, keeping ahead of consumer expectations, and building with a positive impact.” With these words, Ramon Laguarta, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo and Esade alumnus, summarized the challenges facing business leaders today as he received the 2026 Esade Award at the 30th Annual Esade Alumni Day entitled “Seeing the world, shaping the future” attended by some 1,000 Esade alumni at L’Auditori, Barcelona.

This award promoted by the Esade alumni community is an acknowledgement of Laguarta’s career in global business management, adapting to changing markets, and his view of growth involving a combination of innovation, resilience, and positive impact. Against a backdrop of increasing economic and geopolitical complexity, the Esade Alumni Day set these challenges at the heart of the discussion about the future of business.

During his conversation with Jorge Alcover, president of Esade Alumni, Laguarta explained that PepsiCo is adapting its organization to new consumer expectations and a more demanding business environment. “We’re adapting the PepsiCo organization to cater for these realities and making our driving force more agile, transformative and resilient,” he said.

When collecting his award, Laguarta also highlighted his personal links to Esade. “This award is very special for me. It closes a circle that began 45 years ago when I first studied at Esade. This is where I acquired skills and values that have accompanied and guided me throughout my entire career. I will always be extremely grateful to Esade.”

Future-ready growth

Since his appointment as CEO of PepsiCo in 2018 and chairman in 2019, Laguarta has promoted a new phase focused on bolstering the firm’s growth capacity in a changing global market. The strategy is underpinned by three priorities: adapting the portfolio to new consumer needs, accelerating international expansion, and developing new consumer opportunities, particularly in meals and the HORECA sector. This acceleration is part of pep+ (PepsiCo Positive), a strategy designed to drive growth by focusing on sustainability and making a positive impact on people and the planet.

Laguarta’s career at PepsiCo began in 1996, spanning three decades in different markets and positions of responsibility. Before becoming the firm’s global head, he was CEO of the ESSA region (Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa), one of PepsiCo’s most complex and strategic regions, from 2015 to 2017 after holding a variety of management posts in Europe.

With an MBA from Esade and a Master in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix, Arizona, Laguarta’s international career covers the management of global companies, decision making in complex markets and the overhaul of business models.

A day for seeing the world and shaping the future

The conversation with Laguarta was the focal point of a day spent analyzing how companies can interpret an increasingly complex global environment and anticipate the challenges that will mark their future. The conference was opened by Patricia Valentí, director of Esade Alumni, and included a discussion about the new geopolitical reality between Jorge Alcover and F. Xavier Mena, professor of Economics at Esade-Ramon Llull University.
    
Within this framework, the dialogue between Alcover and Laguarta offered insights into global business and the food industry, covering matters such as changing consumer habits, corporate flexibility, sustainability, and the ability to achieve growth in uncertain scenarios. After the dialogue, Ramon Laguarta received the 2026 Esade Award from Anna Xicoy, president of the Esade Foundation Board of Trustees; Daniel Traça, general director of Esade, who brought the day to a close, and Jorge Alcover.

About the Esade Awards

The Esade Awards are held by the Esade alumni community as an acknowledgement of people and organizations whose careers, activities or services are underpinned by the values that define Esade’s founding spirit and are outstanding examples for others. Previous winners include Joaquín Duato, CEO of Johnson & Johnson; Ana Botín, president of Banco Santander; James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company; Enrique Lores, president of Imaging & Printing Solutions at HP; Pablo Isla, CEO of Inditex; Mikael Ohlsson, CEO of Ikea; Carlos Slim, CEO of Inbursa; Indra K. Nooyi, president and CEO of PepsiCo; Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever; Hiroshi Mikitani, founder, president and CEO of Rakuten, Inc.; Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO of CaixaBank; Niklas Adalberth, founder of the Norrsken Foundation, and Gabriel Escarrer, president and CEO of Meliá.