The White House is considering former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi for the role of World Bank president, according to the New York Times.
Ms. Nooyi, who stepped down as chief executive in August after heading up the food and beverage giant for 12 years, has warm relations with senior White House advisor Ivanka Trump, who was tasked by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to help manage the nomination process. The president’s daughter sent out a tweet praising the Indian-American businesswoman after Nooyi announced her departure, calling her a “mentor” and “inspiration.”
“The great @IndraNooyi is stepping down as PepsiCo CEO, after 12 yrs,” Trump wrote. “Indra, you are a mentor + inspiration to so many, myself included. I am deeply grateful for your friendship. Thank you for your passionate engagement on issues that benefit the people of this country, and beyond.”
Initial reports stated that Trump was among a list of potential candidates to replace current World Bank president Jim Yong, who is leaving his post in January. According to the Financial Times, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and David Malpass, the Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, are also under consideration for the job.
The Times cautions that the decision-making process for the job is in its “initial stages” and “fluid,” noting that “early front-runners and candidates often fall off the radar, or withdraw from consideration, before the president makes his ultimate pick.”
Nooyi was a member of the now-disbanded councils of CEOs advising President Trump on economic matters and has dined with him at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Nooyi supported Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.