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

Reckitt Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the merge ...

, the consumer health and household products company. He is the former chairman and CEO of

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

, the toy company. Previously, he was chairman and CEO of

Pepsi-Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

, the beverage company.

Background

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

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, India, and was educated at the

Kodaikanal International School Kodaikanal International School (KIS) is a co-educational independent residential school offering education for grades P-12. It is located on in Kodaikanal, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India. Kodaikanal is a hill station at in the Palani Hills, n ...

followed by four years at

Vermont Academy Vermont Academy (VA) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory, boarding and day school in Saxtons River, Vermont, serving students from ninth through twelfth grade, as well as postgraduates. Founded in 1876, the campus was listed on the ...

in Saxtons River, Vermont. Sinclair's father was president of Esso Oil (now

Exxon Mobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...

)'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 Sou ...

'' from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

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 fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865 by Otis Allan Glazebrook. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters and colonies in the United Stat ...

. Sinclair went on to receive an MBA from the

Tuck School of Business The Tuck School of Business (also known as Tuck, and formally known as the Amos Tuck School of Administration and Finance) is the graduate business school of Dartmouth College, a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Founded in ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

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 Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

and

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

, before spending more than 15 years at

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

. 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-American business executive and former chief executive officer and chairperson of PepsiCo. She has consistently ranked among the world's 100 most powerful women. In 2014, sh ...

. As an example of his ambition, Sinclair told

Fortune magazine ''Fortune'' is an American multinational business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, owned by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. The ...

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 Quality Food Centers, Inc. (NYSE), a US west coast supermarket chain backed by billionaire

Samuel Zell Samuel Zell (born Shmuel Zielonka, September 28, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. A former lawyer, Zell is the founder and chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm, founded in 1968. He ha ...

's Equity Group. After 18-months, Quality Food expanded rapidly and was sold to

Fred Meyer Fred Meyer is an American chain of hypermarket superstores founded in 1922 in Portland, Oregon, USA, by Fred G. Meyer. The stores are found in the northwest U.S., within the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company merged w ...

, Inc., for $1.7 billion in 1998. Sinclair helped orchestrate the deal and was a large shareholder. Fred Meyer is now owned by The Kroger Co. Sinclair led the financial restructuring of Caribiner International, Inc. (now

Jack Morton Worldwide Jack Morton Worldwide is an American multinational brand experience agency. It is a subsidiary of The Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG). The company's current chairman and CEO is Josh McCall. Conference & Incentive Travel Magazine ranked Jac ...

) as chairman and CEO of this

Warburg Pincus Warburg Pincus LLC is a global private equity firm, headquartered in New York, with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil, China, Southeast Asia and India. Warburg has been a private equity investor since 1966. The firm currently has over ...

-sponsored global business communications company. He has served as a partner at Pegasus Capital Advisors, LP, a private equity firm, and an operating partner at Morgan Joseph TriArtisan, a New York-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 (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. The firm was founded in 1980 as the captive investment team for ...

-backed business services company. Sinclair served as chairman of

Mattel, Inc. Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

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 Reckitt Benckiser plc (since rebranded '

'), the maker of

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

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

F.W. Woolworth Company The F. W. Woolworth Company (often referred to as Woolworth's or simply Woolworth) was a retail company and one of the pioneers of the five-and-dime store. It was among the most successful American and international five-and-dime businesses, se ...

Merisant Merisant Company is an American manufacturer of zero/low-calorie sugar substitutes. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Merisant markets brands in over 90 countries including Equal and ...

(Equal Sugar), PepsiCo, Inc., and Perdue Farms, Inc. 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 a ...

, 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. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

and

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

. 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 people American drink industry businesspeople American chief executives of food industry companies American philanthropists Businesspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut People 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