Umran Beba

She has been named as one of “the greatest living business minds of Turkey” by Forbes magazine, featured in Fortune magazine three years in a row for “the most powerful women in business” in the global list and received numerous awards and rankings for being an inspirational leader, mentor and diversity advocate. She has been featured in four books about leadership, diversity, talent and women advocacy.

Umran Beba is an experienced senior business executive with general management, talent and diversity background. Close to 35 years of experience in Consumer Goods Industry where 25 years was with PepsiCo in four different locations namely Istanbul, Hong Kong, Dubai and New York. She was the Asia Pacific President of PepsiCo following president and general management roles in South East Europe, East Mediterranean /Middle East and Turkey. She has been in Chief HR Officer and Chief Diversity Officer roles in her career and managed several transformation projects as well as executive recruitment, talent pipeline building, culture shaping, mentoring, coaching, diversity and inclusion agenda setting and execution and human capital management initiatives.

She has been an independent non-executive board director for five years in Japan Calbee Snacks public company in Tokyo and currently in the board of International Youth Foundation as a co-chair of the board and Neighbors Link as a board member. She is a trustee of Purchase College Foundation board and has a board of overseers role in Columbia University School of Professional Studies. She has been in the Future Council community of World Economic Forum for the last eight years.

She has been a great supporter of all of PepsiCo’s Performance with Purpose goals and has led the development or expansion of numerous sustainability programs designed to achieve them. These include Water Hope, a collaborative social enterprise that aims to bring clean drinking water to over one million Filipinos; Liter of Light, bringing clean energy to poor communities across Asia, Africa and South America; and a partnership with UNESCO to build a Business Skills Development Center in Myanmar.

She is a native of Turkey and earned her MBA and Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Bogaziçi University in Istanbul. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut with her family.

Affiliations and Appointments

• Award winner, Gold Stevie Award – female Executive of the Year, 2014; Women International Network, the Global Inspiring Women Worldwide Award, 2013; PepsiCo Steve Reinemund Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Legacy Award, 2012; The International Alliance for Women (TIAW), 2011
• Ms. Beba has been in Fortune magazine’s global list of the Most Powerful Women in Business for the period of 2011-2013.
• In April 2012, Fortune Turkey, listed Ms. Beba the #2 Most Powerful Turkish Business Woman.
• Board Member, Calbee Group Japan-public company (in Tokyo Stock Exchange since 2011) between 2010-2015; Neighbors Link since April 2017; International Youth Foundation starting September 2017
• Member, Global Talent and Diversity Council, Asia Society; World Economic Forum Global Future Council for Future of Education, Gender and Work
• Advisory Council Member, Switzerland-based Women International Network (WIN)
• "Mentorship for Women for Board Seats," organized by Praesta and Forbes in Turkey
• Umran served as the President of Food Industry Asia, a pan-Asian food and beverage industry association during April 2013 – April 2014 and as an Advisory Council Member for Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School during 2011-2013.