Christopher A. Sinclair

Christopher A. Sinclair
Born	Christopher A. Sinclair September 5, 1950 Hong Kong
Residence	Palm Beach, Florida Greenwich, Connecticut
Nationality	American
Education	University of Kansas 1971 Tuck School of Business 1973
Occupation	Chairman and CEO, Mattel
Board member of	Foot Locker, Inc. 1995-2008 Mattel, Inc. 1996-Present PepsiCo, Inc. 1993-1996 Perdue Farms, Inc. 1994-2000 Reckitt Benckiser 2015-Present
Spouse(s)	Margaret
Children	3 children

Christopher A. Sinclair (born September 5, 1950, Hong Kong) is an American businessman. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mattel, Inc., the world's largest toy company, and a non-executive director of Reckitt Benckiser. He is the former Chairman and CEO of Pepsi-Cola, the American beverage company.

Background

Sinclair was born in Hong Kong, and spent his childhood in Mumbai, India, and was educated at the Kodaikanal International School.^[1] Sinclair's father was president of Esso Oil (now Exxon Mobil)'s international operations. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree in marketing, and he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega. Sinclair went on to receive an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in 1973.

Business career

Sinclair began his career at General Foods and Newsweek before spending more than 15 years at PepsiCo. In 1989, he was promoted from Pepsi USA's central division president to president of newly formed Pepsi-Cola International.^[2] Sinclair was promoted to CEO of PepsiCo Foods and Beverages International in 1993, and ultimately to Chairman and CEO of Pepsi-Cola Co. He was a member of the PepsiCo board of directors.

Sinclair directed Pepsi's entry into the Indian market, and recruited Pepsi's current chief executive officer Indra Nooyi.^[1] As an example of his ambition, Sinclair told Fortune magazine in 1994, "If Coke starts growing 8%, we'll do 10% or 12%." ^[3] He 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 served as CEO of Quality Food Centers, Inc.^[4] (NYSE), a U.S. west coast supermarket chain backed by billionaire Samuel Zell's Equity Group. After 18-months, Quality Food expanded rapidly and was successfully sold to Fred Meyer, 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.

More recently, Sinclair led the financial restructuring of Caribiner International, Inc. (now Jack Morton Worldwide) as chairman and CEO of this Warburg Pincus-sponsored global business communications company. Additionally, 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 also the executive chairman and CEO of Cambridge Solutions Ltd. the second largest BPO/IT company in the world, which was successfully sold in 2008 to Xchanging, a General Atlantic-backed business services company.

Sinclair currently serves as the Chairman and CEO of Mattel, Inc., and a non-executive director of Reckitt Benckiser plc. He is also a member of the advisory board of The Water Initiative, Inc. Sinclair is a former director of Foot Locker, Inc., F.W. Woolworth Company, Merisant (Equal Sugar), PepsiCo, Inc., and Perdue Farms, Inc. He has served as a trustee at Brunswick School, Vermont Academy, on the board of overseers at the Tuck School of Business.

Personal

Sinclair, and his wife Margaret, reside in Greenwich, Connecticut and Palm Beach, Florida.^[5] Margaret is the former president of the Breast Cancer Alliance. ^[6]

References

1. Rai, Asha (Dec 21, 2003). "India is familiar territory for Chris Sinclair". Economic Times (Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.). TNN. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
2. "Pepsi-Cola Sets Shift Overseas". New York Times. September 28, 1989. Retrieved February 18, 2016.