Christopher A. Sinclair (born September 5, 1950) is an American businessman. He is the chairman of

Reckitt Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, currently branded as Reckitt, formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition pro ...

. He is the former chairman and CEO of

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

. Previously, he was chairman and CEO of

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...

Background

Sinclair was born in Hong Kong, and spent his childhood in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India, and was educated at the Kodaikanal International School followed by four years at Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, Vermont. Sinclair's father was president of Esso Oil (now

ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...

)'s international operations. Chris Sinclair graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

with a bachelor's degree in marketing, and he was a member of

Alpha Tau Omega Alpha Tau Omega (), commonly known as ATO, is an American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865 by Otis Allan Glazebrook. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters an ...

. Sinclair went on to receive an MBA from the

Tuck School of Business The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College is the graduate business school of Dartmouth College, a private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. It was founded in 1900 as the first institution in th ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1973.

Business career

Sinclair began his career at

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by C. W. Post, Charles William (C. W.) Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, a ...

and

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

, before spending more than 15 years at

. In 1989, he was promoted from Pepsi USA's central division president to president of newly formed Pepsi-Cola International. Sinclair was promoted to CEO of PepsiCo Foods and Beverages International in 1993, and ultimately to chairman and CEO of

. He was a member of the PepsiCo board of directors. Sinclair directed Pepsi's entry into the Indian market, and recruited Pepsi's former CEO

Indra Nooyi Indra Nooyi (née Krishnamurthy; born October 28, 1955) is an Indian-born American business executive who was the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2018. Nooyi has consistently ranked among the world's 100 mos ...

. As an example of his ambition, Sinclair told

Fortune magazine ''Fortune'' (stylized in all caps) is an American global business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, a global business media company. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. T ...

in 1994, "If Coke starts growing 8%, we'll do 10% or 12%." Sinclair predicted non-U.S. cola sales of $5 billion by 1995, and exceeded his goal. He retired from PepsiCo in 1996. Since his tenure at PepsiCo, Sinclair has been CEO of QFC (NYSE), a US west coast supermarket chain backed by billionaire Samuel Zell's Equity Group. After 18-months, Quality Food expanded rapidly and was sold to

Fred Meyer Fred Meyer, Inc. is an American chain of hypermarket superstores and subsidiary of Kroger based in Portland, Oregon. The stores operate in the northwestern United States, with locations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company was ...

, for $1.7 billion in 1998. Sinclair helped orchestrate the deal and was a large shareholder. Fred Meyer is now owned by

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinc ...

/ Sinclair led the financial restructuring of Caribiner International (now Jack Morton Worldwide) as chairman and CEO of this

Warburg Pincus Warburg Pincus LLC is a global private equity firm, headquartered in New York City, with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil, China, Southeast Asia and India. Warburg has been a private equity investor since 1966. As of April 2024 the f ...

-sponsored global business communications company. He has served as a partner at Pegasus Capital Advisors, and an operating partner at Morgan Joseph TriArtisan, a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

based merchant bank. He was the executive chairman and CEO of Cambridge Solutions Ltd, the second-largest BPO/IT company in the world, which was sold in 2008 to

Xchanging Xchanging is a business process and technology services provider and integrator, owned by DXC Technology, providing business services to the commercial insurance industry. In outsourcing, Xchanging will typically take over a customer's business ...

, a

General Atlantic General Atlantic, legal main entity General Atlantic Service Company, L.P., (also known as "GA") is an American growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for global growth companies, headquartered in New York, United States. T ...

-backed business services company. Sinclair served as chairman of

from January 2015 to May 2018, and as CEO from January 2015 to February 2017. In May 2018, he became the non-executive chairman of

, the maker of

Lysol Lysol (, ; spelled Lizol in India) is an American brand of cleaning and Disinfectant, disinfecting products distributed by Reckitt, which markets the similar Dettol or Sagrotan in other markets. The line includes liquid solutions for hard and s ...

, having served as a director since February 2015. He is a former director of

Foot Locker Foot Locker, Inc. is an American multinational retailer of footwear, sportswear, urban youth apparel and accessories headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in over 40 countries. Although established in 1974, and ...

, FW Woolworth Company, Merisant (Equal Sugar),

and

Perdue Farms Perdue Farms is the parent company of Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness, based in Salisbury, Maryland. Perdue Foods is a major chicken, turkey, and pork processing company in the United States. Perdue AgriBusiness ranks among the top United S ...

He has served as a trustee at

Brunswick School Brunswick School is a private, college-preparatory school for boys in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1902 by George B. Carmichael. History Brunswick School was founded in 1902 by George B. Carmichael. The school is ...

, Vermont Academy, on the board of overseers at the

Personal

Sinclair, and his wife Margaret, reside in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

and

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

. Margaret is the former president of the Breast Cancer Alliance.

References

External links

Nooyi was wooed in style, reveals Chris Sinclair

eMerge Names Christopher A. Sinclair, Former Chairman and CEO of the Pepsi-Cola Company, To Its Board of Directors

* ttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=608024&privcapId=7690731&previousCapId=31197&previousTitle=MATTEL%20INC BusinessWeek Profile - Christopher A. Sinclair
PepsiCo CEO Gotta Fill In Pretty BIG shoes

Prominent Tuck Alumni - Christopher Sinclair

Palm Beach Volk home sold to Christopher Sinclair
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Christopher A. 1950 births Living people Hong Kong emigrants to the United States American drink industry businesspeople American chief executives of food industry companies American philanthropists Businesspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut Businesspeople from Palm Beach, Florida University of Kansas alumni Kodaikanal International School alumni Tuck School of Business alumni PepsiCo people Mattel people American chief executives of manufacturing companies Vermont Academy alumni Reckitt people