chris saikus
クリス・サイカス
strategy • innovation • business • sustainability
Chris (クリス) a senior strategy and innovation executive with over 20 years of global experience building sustainable consumer-centric businesses. He is currently the Vice President and General Manager of Beyond the Bottle Beverages at PepsiCo, the food and beverage industry leader, with goods consumed more than one billion times daily in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. PepsiCo generated $86 billion in net revenue in 2022, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lays, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream.
In this role, Chris manages all aspects of an evolving portfolio of sustainable brands that make it easier for people to stay hydrated with great-tasting beverages while at the same time eliminating the need for single-use plastic. This ambition is part of PepsiCo Positive (pep+), the company's strategic, end-to-end business transformation that puts sustainability and people at the center of how the company will create growth and value.
Before assuming responsibility for the Beyond the Bottle organization, Chris was the founder and Vice President of PepsiCo Technology Ventures, an organization established to fuel innovation through strategic partnerships and disruptive technologies across PepsiCo’s food and beverage businesses. Under his leadership, PepsiCo Technology Ventures served as the primary global interface for startups, VCs, incubators / accelerators, academic institutions, and strategic innovation partners focusing on digital technologies, health and wellness, and sustainability. While at PepsiCo, Chris has also held various leadership roles in strategy and portfolio management, R&D, and business innovation.
Prior to joining PepsiCo, Chris spent ten years with Whirlpool Corporation, the global home appliance company dedicated to developing innovative products that save time and effort for consumers. He held various roles of increasing responsibility across product development, innovation, business analytics, and new ventures. Chris held a key leadership role for Whirlpool’s Smart Home business unit, a new venture focused on sustainability and consumer convenience, delivering solutions to improve life at home.
Chris has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Michigan State University. Chris resides in Connecticut with his wife and two daughters.
venture impact
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"Every individual will encounter some degree of accessibility challenges during their lifetime. Whether the challenge starts at birth or develops with age, every individual deserves the opportunity to live life to its fullest."
— Chris Saikus, Global Vice President, General Manager, International Beverages (Beyond the Bottle), PepsiCo
In 2015, before assuming responsibility for the Beyond the Bottle organization, Chris Saikus founded and was Vice President of PepsiCo Technology Ventures, an organization established to fuel innovation through strategic partnerships and disruptive technologies across PepsiCo’s food and beverage businesses. Under his leadership, PepsiCo Technology Ventures served as the primary global interface for startups, VCs, incubators/accelerators, academic institutions, and strategic innovation partners focusing on digital technologies, health and wellness, and sustainability. While at PepsiCo, Chris has also held various leadership roles in strategy and portfolio management, R&D, and business innovation.
alexander fleming
chris's favorite innovator
“our need will be the real creator.”
necessity is the mother of invention.— plato (c. 427 – 348 BC)
chris’s favorite quote