Business leader Indira Nooyi, who left the multinational PepsiCo last August, is being considered to head the World Bank, according to media reports. If this happens, Nooyi will be succeeding Jim Yong Kim, a Korean immigrant who announced his intention to resign at the beginning of the year. Nooyi would require US President Donald Trump’s nomination though.
According to tradition, the American president nominates the head of World Bank, which receives further approval from the executive directors. Nooyi’s vast experience and commendable career make her a likely candidate for the job.
In addition, it is being said that she fulfils Trump’s preference for the private sector. The former PepsiCo head also counts Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump as an admirer, who is also rooting for her selection. She “has been courted as an administration ally by Ivanka Trump, the president’s eldest daughter who is playing a role in the selection of a nominee,” the The New York Times said. The first daughter also tweeted that she sees Nooyi as a “mentor + inspiration”.
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Nooyi took her leave from PepsiCo last August as its Chairman, after 12 years of leadership at the international soft drinks, food and snacks giant. If Nooyi’s appointment comes to pass, the number of women holding high positions in international financial policy-making would go up to four.
Gita Gopinath was appointed the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF), which is in turn led by Managing Director Christine Lagarde. Gopinath became the first woman to lead the IMF’s research department after taking it over from Maurice Obstfeld at the end of last year.
Also, Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg is the Bank’s chief economist. Some reports are saying that another Indian-American, Nikki Haley, is also a possibility for the post. It is not clear yet whether Nooyi would accept the appointment in case that it becomes official.
Nooyi was included Trump’s business council, which dismantled after several chief executives left. However, Nooyi’s negative comments post the 2016 election might be an obstruction to her being nominated for the prestigious post. Nooyi had said after the election that her employees were in ‘mourning’, a statement that was later withdrawn.
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