TRAILBLAZER
Colleagues and peers of Smith ’ s describe her as a ‘ great leader ’ that ‘ leads by example ’ and a ‘ thoughtful procurement professional with a great capacity for developing her people ’.
“ Melani is an experienced and thoughtful procurement professional with great capacity for developing her people . Melani effectively took sourcing ownership for key categories of indirect spend at Merck while sharing her expertise and experience across her peer group to help build a better team ,” said Gavin Murdoch , Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships Business Development at Thermo Fisher Scientific .
“ Melani is a great leader [...] She leads by example and always keeps us motivated ,” said Nayda M . Berrios , Procurement Director , AstraZeneca . “ She gives you the opportunity to develop your leadership skills . I learned a lot about leadership from Melani .”
Smith joins PepsiCo Smith joined PepsiCo in 2020 as Senior Vice President , Procurement Market Supply Officer - Pepsi Foods North America , accountable for spend , savings and supplier relationships in the PepsiCo value chain . Today , Smith is the CPO of PepsiCo . A role she took on after just six months at the business , and is accountable for the sourcing and procurement across the enterprise .
Dedicated to the ‘ D . R . E . A . M ’ Smith has been a member of the board of Vanguard Theatre Company since 2018 and is a strong believer in the company ’ s mission Diversity , Reciprocity , Education , Awareness , Mentorship ( D . R . E . A . M ).
This belief shines through into her work at PepsiCo and her interests in climate change , putting an end to hate crime and systemic racism , uplifting positive images of the community , and inspiring others .
20 January 2022