Derek Lewis is President of South Division, PepsiCo North America Beverages (NAB). In this role, Lewis is responsible for numerous tasks while also overseeing brand-building and enterprise strategy, using regional economies and end-to-end management, enabling PBNA to make, move and sell products on a local level. His previous role was SVP & General Manager, Pepsi North American Field Operations, a role in which he led the company’s North American operating business and guided the field leadership in the United States and Canada. With approximately 48,000 employees, Field Operations generated $15 billion in NAB sales in 2015.

Prior to this position, he was senior vice president and general manager for Pepsi Beverage Company’s South Business Unit (SBU). Under his leadership, the SBU generated $2.8 billion in annual sales and included operations in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Lewis assumed the role in March 2008 and managed all aspects of PBC’s business in the southern United States.

Previously, he served in PBC’s headquarters as vice president, consumer and category insights, assuming a position in March 2006. Lewis led PBC’s growth strategy, annual operating plan, innovation, consumer insights, and the development and execution of national marketing initiatives. He served for two years as vice president of retail sales for the Great West Business Unit (GWBU). The GWBU covered 11 states and generated more than $1 billion in annual sales. Lewis set the functional agenda for the Business Unit’s entire Retail Sales organization.

Lewis joined the Pepsi system as a campus hire in 1988. He started out as an account representative in Baltimore, Maryland, and progressed through various sales positions of increasing responsibility in the Chesapeake Market Unit. From 1995 to 1998, Lewis worked as a market manager for Taco Bell in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1998, he was named regional sales manager for PBC in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2001, Lewis was appointed vice president and general manager for PBC in Portland, Oregon.

Lewis is currently Co-Chair of the PepsiCo North America Beverages’ Diversity Advisory Board, a body comprised of a variety of senior leaders who act as the governing body setting the company’s diversity strategy. Previously, he served on the board for six years and helped the company identify and address important diversity issues.

Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors for Central Florida’s Boy Scouts of America, YMCA of Central Florida, and the American Beverage Association. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Hampton University and Lake Highland Preparatory School. In addition, he is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, National Black MBA Association, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Lewis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Hampton University in Virginia and an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from Xavier University in Ohio.