Saad Abdul-Latif
International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Experience
Saad Abdul-Latif is the chief executive officer, PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and Africa. PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. PepsiCo’s main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world.
Mr. Abdul-Latif assumed his current role in September 2008, and is responsible for PepsiCo’s Asia, Middle East and Africa sector, which spans more than 90 countries and almost three-fourths of the world’s population. He leads more than 40,000 employees who generated $6.6 billion in annual revenues in 2012.
A 31-year PepsiCo veteran, Mr. Abdul-Latif has held a wide range of international roles in the corporation's food and beverage businesses since joining the company in 1982. Among his roles, he has served as general manager for PepsiCo beverages in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan, area vice president for the Saudi Arabia and Gulf region, group vice president for Frito-Lay Middle East and general manager for the Middle East region.
Mr. Abdul-Latif is an active supporter of causes related to the Millennium Development Goals. He is the founder of PepsiCo’s Tomooh education program, which partners with the World Food Programme, and he has shepherded PepsiCo’s close partnership with the Arab International Women’s Forum. He sits on the board of PlaNet Finance, an organization which fights poverty through the development of microfinance.
Mr. Abdul-Latif is a member of Columbia Business School’s W. Edwards Deming Center Advisory Board, a member of the Judging Committee of the school’s prestigious Deming Cup, and an International Council Member of Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He is also a member of the Board of Fellows for the Thunderbird School of Global Management, from which he holds a Master’s degree in international management (MIM). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the American University of Beirut.
