Kumar will lead the division that has a large portfolio of brands, which includes Quaker cereals, the chewy granola bars, and Aunt Jemima mixes and syrups, the company said in a statement.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad, Kumar will be based out of Chicago and report to PepsiCo Americas Foods chief executive John Compton. Kumar was till recently chief marketing officer for PepsiCo.

Prior to joining PepsiCo's Frito-Lay business, Kumar had 18 years of international and domestic brand management and sales experience with a number of consumer goods companies such as Kraft Foods.

He joins several senior executives of Indian origin who are at the helm of the $43 billion food and beverages giant, including chairman and chief executive Indra Nooyi and senior vice president of corporate strategy Vivek Sankaran.

According to the PepsiCo statement, Kumar had transformed the marketing agenda and key organizational capabilities at Frito-Lay to drive innovation -- which he did by integrating customer sales, marketing, research and development.

One of his consumer-related promotions took the top spot on the USA Today ad meter earlier this year and earned the $1-million prize that came with that honour from Frito-Lay.