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Contact Joan Toth, Executive Director, Network of Executive Women (NEW)
Tel. (312) 693-5393 | E-mail jtoth@newonline.org | www.newonline.org

Frito-Lay’s Tom Greco honored at NEW champion’s reception

Six college students receive NEW scholarships

CHICAGO (May 8, 2006) -- Thomas R. Greco, senior vice president of sales for Frito-Lay North America, was honored as the Network of Executive Women's 2006 Outstanding Champion at the group's annual Champion's Reception, May 7 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Chicago.

More than 200 industry executives attended the reception, which was sponsored by Deloitte & Touche. Six college students receiving NEW scholarships were also honored at the event.

"Diversity and inclusion are part of our core values at PepsiCo," Greco told the crowd.  "We have all learned how challenging it is to make a difference in this area. As our chairman Steve Reinemund says, 'It is truly a marathon, not a sprint.'"

"Advancement of Women has been a central focus for us for the last three years and NEW has been there every step of the way," Greco said. "Thanks to the people at NEW, we've totally redesigned Key Jobs in our organization to attract a more educated, professional and diverse candidate pool," increasing diverse representation from 33 percent to 52 percent among field sales executives, and tripling the number of women in the group in three past years.

Greco noted that three of the top six line positions at PepsiCo are held by women: Indra Nooyi, president and CFO of PepsiCo; Dawn Hudson, president and CEO of Pepsi-Cola North America; and Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO of Frito-Lay North America.

Greco 'walks the talk'

President Kimberly Betts, a member of the Human Capital Practice at Deloitte & Touche, presented NEW's 2006 Outstanding Champion Award to Greco, saying, "Tom drives the diversity and inclusion message throughout Frito-Lay, PepsiCo and the industry. He is a vocal and visible supporter of NEW's mission and is one of those individuals 'who walk the talk' and foster diversity and inclusion. He has been a vocal proponent of NEW's regional event strategy, NEW's development of women of color and outreached to retailers on our behalf, marshalling support from all facets of PepsiCo."

In a statement, NEW Executive Director Joan Toth praised Greco for "his outstanding support of the Network of Executive Women and the cause of gender diversity in the consumer packaged goods industry. We could not accomplish our mission of advancing the cause of women in our industry without the support of Champions like him."

Only six other persons have been recognized as NEW Outstanding Champion since the organization's founding in 2001. Linda Dillman, executive vice president, risk management, benefits and sustainability of Wal-Mart, Jeri Dunn, former senior vice president and CIO of Tyson Foods, and Kay Palmer, CIO and executive vice president of J.B. Hunt, shared the award last year.

Greco began his career with PepsiCo in Canada in 1986. Since then he has held a variety of positions in both sales and marketing. In January 2003, he assumed the position of Senior Vice President of Sales for Frito-Lay North America. He was previously employed by Procter & Gamble and  holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario.

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