Nooyi books apartment in childhood city

CHENNAI: Indra Nooyi, the India-born chief executive of Pepsico, has booked a sprawling apartment worth Rs 6.5 crore in the city's Poes Garden, a posh neighbourhood that the likes of J Jayalalithaa and Rajnikant call their home.

Nooyi, who was born in the city and graduated from the Madras Christian College before moving on to the US, is an avid fan of 'Carnatic' music and apparently likes to visit the city in December-January when it hosts the annual classical music festival.

Renowned Carnatic singer Aruna Sairam is the aunt of Nooyi, who was last month named America's most powerful businesswoman by Fortune magazine for the second year in a row.

The booking of the apartment also incidentally comes days before Nooyi's birthday, October 28.

The 4,100 sq.ft apartment, in the vicinity of the residences of former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa and film icon Rajnikant, is part of a residential project promoted by builder KGEYES Residency Private Ltd.

It comes at a price of Rs 16,000 per sq.ft, according to KGEYES Managing Director MV Shanmugam.

Nooyi, who is credited with helping Pepsico look beyond aerated drinks business and sell fast foods over a decade back, became the company's CEO last year.