Richard Lee departs PepsiCo after 19 years

Richard Lee, SVP and chief content officer of PepsiCo Greater China, as well as chief marketing officer of Tingyi Asahi Beverages (Chinese beverage manufacturer and distributor in which PepsiCo holds equity), has decided to leave the company "to pursue new passions".

Lee told Campaign Asia-Pacific he won't be able to reveal what those passions are for the time being, but stated his new job will not be a conventional, one-company-one-title situation.

Earlier in his PepsiCo career, Lee served as director of cola and later as VP of marketing for beverages in China. He then moved to PepsiCo’s global headquarters in 2007 and assumed the position of global marketing VP for sparkling beverages. In 2010, he returned to China as PepsiCo Greater China CMO, covering all beverage and foods brands under the firm.

The long-term “Bring happiness home” campaign was created under Li’s stewardship, according to an internal memo from PepsiCo’s Greater China president and CEO Mike Spanos, which added that the campaign was endorsed by China's Ministry of Culture for its positive message.

"Richard will be missed for his creativity, his global brand-building expertise and most importantly his passion for the business and dedication to developing others," added Spanos in the memo.