PepsiCo India appoints Ola CCO Viraj Chouhan as Chief Communications Officer

 17th October 2018    PR News 
 Paarul Chand

PepsiCo India, today announced the appointment of Viraj Chouhan as chief communications officer, effective November 1, 2018. He will be a part of the 'India Leadership Team'. Till recently, Viraj was associated with Ola (ANI Tech Pvt Ltd) as the chief communications officer and was part of their leadership team, joining the rideshare firm in December 2017.

Meanwhile, Ola issued a statement in the afternoon saying that, "We thank Viraj Chouhan for his contribution to Ola during his time here and we wish him the very best for his future. Anand Subramanian will take over as Head of Communications for Ola, from Viraj Chouhan." 

Viraj is slated to join PepsiCo India after Poonam Kaul quit in May 2018 to join Apple India as marketing director.

Viraj is a corporate communications professional with 21 years’ experience and has worked with several leading global brands such as MTS, Coca-Cola and Bharti Airtel among others. He has deep experience across brand public relations, stakeholder engagement and reputation management.

Ahmed ElSheikh, chairman & CEO, PepsiCo India said, “PepsiCo India continues to be an employer valued for the opportunities and leadership experiences that attract the best talent in the industry. We are delighted to welcome Viraj Chouhan to PepsiCo India as Chief Communications Officer.  PepsiCo India has been on a powerful transformation journey towards a sustainable, responsible and profitable growth and Viraj will lead our communications efforts in taking this story to consumers, partners and stakeholders at large.”

Viraj Chouhan, on his appointment as chief communications officer, PepsiCo India said, “I am thrilled to join PepsiCo, home to some of the most iconic brands in the food and beverage industry that have captured the consumer imagination. The Company’s Performance with Purpose philosophy has truly been an inspiration that has seen some pioneering work in the areas of collaborative potato farming, community water programmes and transforming the product portfolio. I am delighted to join this endeavour.”