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June 27, 2025 12 mins

Erin and Charissa talk to Jane Wakely, Executive Vice President, Chief Consumer and Marketing Officer and Chief Growth Officer of International Foods at PepsiCo live onstage from Cannes. 

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Calm Down with Erin and Carissa is a production of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
All Right, guys, here we go, keeping it moving, and
we are so excited to introduce you to our next guest,
Jane Wakely.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
She is Pepsi Pepsi Co's EVP.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Chief Consumer and Marketing Officer and last but not least,
Chief Growth Officer for International Foods. Please welcome Jane Wakelee.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
She's busy day.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Hio.

Speaker 4 (00:35):
Jane has so many titles, it's ridiculous.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Oh that's perfect. You're so important you need all the titles.
We had the.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Pleasure of hanging out with Jane backstage and I just
peppered her with my father's affinity for Pepsi products. From
as early as I could remember, he had a Pepsi
in his hand. He's going to be so excited to
know that I met you. How's the week been, a
few days been since.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
You got here?

Speaker 5 (00:59):
Incredible? Always wonderful to be here.

Speaker 6 (01:01):
So much inspiration, so much creativity, so much to learn?

Speaker 4 (01:04):
Can I ask before we get to these questions we
were told to ask, just you having all these titles
and being a woman that really really resonates. Yes, I'm sorry,
but I'm gonna say it.

Speaker 5 (01:16):
You know what, I hate my title and.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
I normally as you don't wrong.

Speaker 5 (01:20):
To be I want to be chief smiles officer.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
That's it.

Speaker 5 (01:23):
That's it. That's my proposal. Yeah, yeah, much better.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah, we have we have a lot of questions for you,
but I'd like to start with what are some of
your favorite Like, you have so many things, as evidenced
by your title, and PEPSI co represents so many different brands,
so many different specific things within the brand. What are
some of your favorites that still stand out today? And
your memories from the How many events have you been

(01:47):
to here?

Speaker 5 (01:48):
Oh? What today?

Speaker 2 (01:51):
No?

Speaker 1 (01:51):
In your years of Oh I've been here since twenty twelve.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
So twenty twelve.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
What are some of the memories and things that stand
out the most to you about whether it'sacific within your
brand or the event itself here at Campline.

Speaker 6 (02:03):
I think for me, what I love most every year
is like walking the work. If you go into the palais,
if you want the work, if you really look at
others case studies, I always come away with thinking I
got to do better.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
Okay, Yeah, you're inspired and inspired?

Speaker 5 (02:18):
Yeah, yeah, that's for sure.

Speaker 6 (02:19):
And there's been some nice red carpet moments too, for sure.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Oh, any you can elaborate on tell us about it.

Speaker 6 (02:25):
Look, it's always a celebration of the work, right, the creativity,
the partners the partnerships, and yeah, there's been some special moments,
a few wins over the years. But I'm going to
champion the PepsiCo ones.

Speaker 5 (02:38):
Given I'm here with PepsiCo.

Speaker 3 (02:39):
I love it.

Speaker 4 (02:40):
And we also talked about this backstage as well. Some
new data that's been released. You guys just put out
a report about women's football of course soccer to all
of us in the United States. It's about to explode obviously, right,
eight hundred million fans.

Speaker 3 (02:54):
By twenty thirty.

Speaker 4 (02:56):
How does Pepsi plan on being a part of this
connecting with the fans?

Speaker 6 (03:00):
Yeah, look, I mean this is a festival of creativity,
and creativity starts by understanding people, right, And I don't
know about you, but you know it's it's it's not
a new insight, but women's sport is on fire, yep,
on file right, and the reality is PepsiCo like spotted
that way before I joined. So we were the first

(03:21):
in with the UEFA Champions League. We've sponsored WNBA twenty
nine years in counting. We've just signed up Formula one
F one Academy, so we're on it. But we've launched
this new report with Nielsen because we think it's called
Undervalued to Unstoppable, and what it shows is that the
audience is going to explode in the next few years

(03:44):
eight hundred million, eight hundred million fans by twenty thirty,
which will put it a top five global sport.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
Well. Along to say in contributing to that is the
World Cup. We've talked to ed about the World Cup
remaining twenty twenty six, the Women's World Cup in twenty
twenty seven, the number we're here for Women's World.

Speaker 3 (04:01):
Cup shattered records.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
So what will you guys be doing specifically that you
can share with us? Of course, just sort of expand
that growth in that partnership.

Speaker 6 (04:11):
Yeah, look, I mean, you know, I've just come actually
from Champions League. So we did a game changer event
we called it at the Women's Champions League this year
in Lisbon.

Speaker 5 (04:21):
Was anyone there was anyone?

Speaker 3 (04:23):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (04:25):
Okay, okay.

Speaker 6 (04:26):
My husband is an Arsenal fan and you know, the
Arsenal women's team took it home. So it was such
an exciting moments.

Speaker 3 (04:33):
I love my wife's job. This is yeah, yeah, I know,
I know.

Speaker 5 (04:36):
Now my boss was a Bassa fan, so.

Speaker 6 (04:38):
That was a little bit for a few minutes, but
it was.

Speaker 5 (04:41):
It was incredible.

Speaker 6 (04:42):
And what we do at these big events is we
have a portfolio, right, so Gatorade sure is our performance
hydration brand. Love and our plan with Gatorade at something
like Champions League is will be on the pitch. Okay,
we'll be on the pitch with the athletes, but Pepsi
and our Lais brand is something like Champions League is

(05:02):
with the fans. So we do massive brand experience events,
much like Edwar was saying. We want to be there
in the sporting moments. And with FIFA, we're focusing on
our foods brands.

Speaker 5 (05:12):
Actually so Foods Foods is.

Speaker 6 (05:15):
We're doing FIFA in Brazil and twenty twenty seven amazing
seeing on women's soccer top five global sports.

Speaker 3 (05:22):
It's in the top five.

Speaker 4 (05:23):
What would you say to the people that still haven't
bought in or haven't jumped in yet.

Speaker 3 (05:28):
What are they missing?

Speaker 5 (05:29):
I don't know. Get off the sidelines, That's what I say.
Get off the sidelines.

Speaker 6 (05:34):
The ro y and women's sports is incredible, you know
because despite the fan base, women's sports only gets thirteen
percent of the sponsorship. Thirteen percent. That's ridiculous. So we
see it as a great investment in growth.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
This is not on our itinerary, but just sitting here
and listening to you and even the little bit of
time we got with you backstage. To Aaron's point in
the introduction, you're a badass and it is so are inspiring.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
Aaron and I are so inspired.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
When we see you know, female CEOs, EVPs, cheap marketing,
any specific titale, just women supporting women. And so I
have to ask you, who's been someone in your life
or what's the best piece of advice that you've gotten
as you climbed your way to the top of this
corporate ladder, because it's not always easy and we always
help one another and sort of lift each other up.

(06:24):
Maybe if you don't mind sharing inexperience like that, because
we're very inspired by.

Speaker 3 (06:28):
Kind of in a man's world too, so we get
no for sure.

Speaker 5 (06:32):
Gosh, Okay, we're going off script here right. Let me
think about it.

Speaker 6 (06:35):
Look, I've worked for incredible women and men throughout my
career and I think one of the biggest lessons that
I learned. Actually, I'm just thinking I have a mental
still today from twenty years ago.

Speaker 5 (06:49):
She's incredible.

Speaker 6 (06:49):
She's called Fiona Dawson, and she was an incredible leader
of my old company. And I was on maternity leave
at the time, right and I was determined to take the.

Speaker 5 (07:01):
Full nine months. That's nine months, and you.

Speaker 6 (07:04):
Know, as a commitment to my family. And I remember
she rang me and she said, Jane, this incredible promotions
come up.

Speaker 5 (07:10):
I want you to go for it. And I was
literally just had a baby, and I was thinking, I can't.

Speaker 6 (07:17):
I can't for.

Speaker 5 (07:17):
This reason, for this reason, this, you know, that was
what was playing in my head.

Speaker 6 (07:21):
And I am so grateful to her because she said, Okay,
no worries, but I want you to think about why
you're saying no, and let's talk again in forty eight hours.
And I shared with her all of those kind of barriers.
Some of them were real, but some of them were
in my head, per seat barriers. And what she did
is she made policy personal as a leader.

Speaker 5 (07:42):
She one of my barriers was if I get the job,
I'll have to come back quickly. I'll have to take
it right, And she was like, you know what, No,
you're going to stay on if you're.

Speaker 6 (07:52):
The best person for the job, I will personally cover
that job until you come back.

Speaker 3 (07:58):
Wow.

Speaker 6 (07:59):
And so for me, actually I'm going to relate it
to women's sport because for me, this is personal. This
is personal, and we need to not only sponsor these events,
but we need to put the excitement, the reach, the
entertainment value of our brands right at the heart.

Speaker 3 (08:14):
I love the right thing making policy personal.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
That's beautiful because yeah, you can get wrapped up in
the work, and we are, you know, so entrenched in
our professions, but it becomes more than just a job.

Speaker 3 (08:24):
It becomes families.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
So when it is personal, you know, people know that
and you can feel.

Speaker 3 (08:28):
That you consumer knows that too for sure.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
Well we heard that thank you you're a fan of
the podcast, which were so did they lie? We'd be
if we didn't have some fun with you because we
got you.

Speaker 3 (08:40):
For a few more minutes here.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
So as you know, we talk about a myriad of
different topics on our podcast.

Speaker 3 (08:45):
But yeah, I love karaoke.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
I mean I cannot sing. It's embarrassing. I don't believe
anyone that can sing should go to karaoke like you
should just go to the Voice or like American Idol.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
But anyway, you have somebody you're good friends with that
does this.

Speaker 3 (09:00):
Tell Toby Gonzalez? I do not like that. So here's
the question for you. Karaoke song? What is it? What
is your song? When you get up there and sing.

Speaker 6 (09:10):
I have to go this is embarrassing. But if I'm
failing cool, I try and go cold Play, but that's
too difficult. So if I'm faeling cheesy AB's that's the
I like.

Speaker 3 (09:22):
That You're willing to go for the hard stuff though
you play.

Speaker 5 (09:25):
Song oh yellow, oh why? I know, it's crazy, It's crazy.

Speaker 3 (09:32):
How many pepsis have you had before you do that?

Speaker 4 (09:35):
So? Okay, on this question, I like strawberry cream cheese,
I do.

Speaker 3 (09:40):
I don't care.

Speaker 4 (09:41):
How about you strawberry cream cheese on a bagel and
a toasted bagel.

Speaker 3 (09:44):
Also, I'm a bacon and eggs go, oh god?

Speaker 4 (09:47):
So am I? If you have to do a bagel,
what's your spread?

Speaker 5 (09:52):
Okay?

Speaker 3 (09:52):
All right?

Speaker 5 (09:53):
Philly and salmon?

Speaker 3 (09:55):
Whoaah?

Speaker 2 (09:56):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (09:57):
Ay?

Speaker 2 (09:58):
I do something that really bothers Aaron and I'm I'm
sure a lot of other people will agree with her
on this. I will skip forward episodes in a series
because I'm like, all right, we get it.

Speaker 3 (10:07):
I'll go to the end.

Speaker 2 (10:09):
I'll watch the last one and see if I want
to go back and watch the previous ones. I know
it's weird. Would you do that?

Speaker 3 (10:15):
Have you ever done that?

Speaker 5 (10:16):
Hilarious? I do that with books?

Speaker 3 (10:18):
Okay, see, yeah, you get it.

Speaker 1 (10:21):
I get it.

Speaker 3 (10:22):
Impatient for the result. How you follow what's going on? Yeah?
You catch up? Oh my god, catch I'm so glad
you see me. Okay, good.

Speaker 4 (10:34):
I felt alone up here until now. It's those introductions.
I skip and then I'm like, my god, how long
is this? Sorry to anyone who's an author?

Speaker 3 (10:41):
Okay, yeah you already I should ask you a question?

Speaker 5 (10:44):
Sure, so calm down or get down.

Speaker 6 (10:46):
Okay, I'm gonna name some I'm gonna name some PepsiCo products.

Speaker 3 (10:50):
Oh yes, I love this, see.

Speaker 6 (10:52):
What you know?

Speaker 5 (10:52):
Great flaming hat?

Speaker 3 (10:54):
Yes, yes, yeah? Okay, a napkin.

Speaker 2 (10:57):
I love anything hot though I can't.

Speaker 6 (11:00):
Sorry, Okay, all right, let's go for a different one.
Let's go for okay, what about propel?

Speaker 3 (11:08):
That seems to be yay?

Speaker 6 (11:11):
Okay, last one? Okay, one of our new brands, Poppy,
what do you reckon?

Speaker 3 (11:16):
Yeah, I haven't tried it, Yeah I have, I have.
It's very good.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
And I gotta tell I was in Target the other day.
I saw the sweats. There's a full integration of Target
sweats and sweatshirts. I love what's going on there. And
the girl that you have is the model's great, she's great.
And the commercials. I could go on and on about Poppy.
You have to be seven hundred other places today, so
we're gonna let you thank you, but we feel so
grateful that you stop by and thank you for humoring
us with the stories that you have and also inspiring

(11:41):
us that policy is personal.

Speaker 3 (11:43):
So thank you. So catering.

Speaker 4 (11:46):
Yeah, everybody, right now, I'm gonna take a towel.

Speaker 3 (11:50):
Thank you so much, so much.

Speaker 1 (11:53):
Calm Down with Erin and Carissa is a production of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (11:57):
For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 6 (12:09):
M HM
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Hosts And Creators

Erin Andrews

Erin Andrews

Charissa Thompson

Charissa Thompson

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