Leadership

Arriving at Pepsi after defecting from an alienating position at Coca-Cola, Steele immediately began a highly involved rehabilitation process at the battered soft drink maker. Steele installed a more autonomous management structure, instituted an extensive advertising campaign that helped Pepsi grow out of its “poor man’s cola” image, and created a vending machine business for Pepsi. All of these changes allowed Pepsi to gain a great deal of market share, predominantly at the expense of Coca-Cola, and grow income from $1.6 million in 1950 to $11.5 million in 1958.