Leadership is at the heart of transforming a business. PepsiCo pairs AI and data with a people-first leadership strategy to help teams move faster and make smarter decisions that create results. Athina Kanioura stepped into the role of CEO of PepsiCo Latin America Foods while continuing to lead strategy and transformation. In this conversation, she discusses how empowerment, simplicity and continuous change can unlock the next era of growth.

1. First things first: What are you seeing most companies get wrong in their implementation of business transformation and how does leadership play into that?

Kanioura: What many companies get wrong is treating transformation as a technology deployment rather than a business and people transformation. Technology alone does not create value; how leaders align strategy, operating models and behaviors around it does.

At PepsiCo, we've learned that transformation must start with clear business outcomes and be anchored in leadership accountability.

Leaders set the tone by modeling data-driven decision-making, embracing experimentation and ensuring that transformation is embedded into how work gets done, not just layered on top.

2. The background: How have you noticed your own leadership style transform as you've grown into your new role? What behaviors have you continued to use or must unlearn?

Kanioura: My leadership style has evolved to become even more focused on empowerment and simplification. As technology has accelerated, the role of a leader is less about having all the answers and more about creating clarity, enabling teams and removing friction.

One thing I've continued to prioritize is staying deeply connected to the business, understanding where value is created, while unlearning the need to control every decision. In a data- and AI-driven organization, the strength comes from distributed decision-making powered by shared insights.

3. Key numbers: Data is described as one of PepsiCo's most powerful growth assets. How is AI changing what data can do for the business?

Kanioura: The combination of human intelligence, strong data foundations and AI capabilities is a key driver of sustainable growth. While AI is fundamentally changing how we unlock value from data, combining it with our people provides us with real opportunities.

AI allows us to move from hindsight to foresight and increasingly to real-time decisioning.

• At PepsiCo, we are using AI to connect data across the enterprise, enabling more predictive planning, faster insights and better decision-making at scale.

We often talk about AI in terms of technology, but the real opportunity is people. If 300,000 associates are empowered to make just three better decisions a day, that is nearly a million better decisions across PepsiCo every day.

4. The breakdown: How are you helping employees adapt to transformations, including AI implementations and reassuring them that it can empower them, not sideline them?

Kanioura: It starts with mindset: our focus is helping associates build new skills and use AI to make their work more impactful. We invest heavily in capability building, ensuring employees have the skills, tools and confidence to engage with new technologies.

Equally important is transparency and communication: helping teams understand not just what is changing, but why it matters for them and the business. When people see how these tools make their work more impactful and less manual, adoption follows.

5. More info: Where have you seen the biggest shift in how teams operate day to day at PepsiCo after transformation?

Kanioura: The biggest shift is in how decisions get made. Teams are now empowered to act closer to the business, using shared data and insights to move faster and with more confidence.

We've also reduced friction by embedding intelligence directly into workflows, shifting work from manual and reactive to proactive and insight driven.

• For leaders, it's less about directing and more about creating clarity and enabling teams to deliver.

6. Plus, plus, plus: How do you ensure a level of consistency in leadership practices across a global organization, and what challenges have you seen arise in that aspect?

Kanioura: Consistency starts with clear leadership principles and visible role modeling from the top: how we make decisions, lead teams and define success.

Balancing that consistency with local flexibility is a challenge. Too much rigidity slows teams down, while too much variation creates fragmentation. The key is a strong global foundation with the freedom to adapt locally.

7. Why it's important: What do you see as a risk if companies do not align leadership-driven approaches when implementing enterprise transformations as we continue to scale technology in the future?

Kanioura: Without leadership alignment, transformation efforts become fragmented and fail to scale. You may see pockets of success, but not enterprise-wide impact.

Misalignment also creates confusion for employees, slows adoption and ultimately limits the return on investment. In a world where technology is evolving rapidly, the greatest risk is moving in different directions.

8. Looking ahead: If you had to identify one element, what's the biggest mindset shift leaders still need to make when it comes to the best way to scale transformation at their company?

Kanioura: The biggest shift is moving from viewing transformation as a finite program to treating it as a continuous capability. In today's environment, the ability to adapt, learn and evolve is the real competitive advantage.

Leaders need to embrace transformation as an ongoing journey, one that is powered by data, enabled by technology and brought to life through people.

Explore PepsiCo's strategy.