Christopher A. Sinclair
Christopher A. Sinclair | |
---|---|
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Born | |
Nationality | American |
Education | University of Kansas Dartmouth College |
Occupation(s) | Chairman, Reckitt Benckiser Former CEO, Mattel |
Board member of | Foot Locker 1995-2008 Mattel 1996-2018 PepsiCo 1996-1996 Perdue Farms 1994-2000 Reckitt Benckiser 2015-present |
Spouse | Margaret |
Children | 3 |
Christopher A. Sinclair (born September 5, 1950) is an American businessman. He is the chairman of Reckitt Benckiser plc, the consumer health and household products company. He is the former chairman and CEO of Mattel, Inc., the American toy company. Previously, he was chairman and CEO of Pepsi-Cola, the 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. He was a member of the PepsiCo board of directors.
Sinclair directed Pepsi's entry into the Indian market, and recruited Pepsi's current CEO 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 been CEO of Quality Food Centers, Inc.[4] (NYSE), a US west coast supermarket chain backed by billionaire Samuel Zell's Equity Group. After 18-months, Quality Food expanded rapidly and was sold to Fred Meyer, Inc., for $1.7 billion in 1998.[5] Sinclair helped orchestrate the deal and was a large shareholder. Fred Meyer is now owned by The Kroger Co.[6]
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.[7] 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 the executive chairman and CEO of Cambridge Solutions Ltd, the second largest BPO/IT company in the world, which was sold in 2008 to Xchanging, a General Atlantic-backed business services company.[8]
Sinclair served as chairman of Mattel, Inc. from January 2015 to May 2018, and as CEO from January 2015 to February 2017.[9][10] In May 2018, he became the non-executive chairman of Reckitt Benckiser plc, having served as a director since February 2015.[11]
He is a former director of Foot Locker, Inc., F.W. Woolworth Company, Merisant (Equal Sugar), PepsiCo, Inc., and Perdue Farms, Inc.[12][13] 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.[14] Margaret is the former president of the Breast Cancer Alliance.[15] He has three children, and his son William is married to the daughter of Alan Botsford, Jr. and Susan Perkins Botsford, who was Miss America in 1978. [16]
References
- ^ a b Rai, Asha (Dec 21, 2003). "India is familiar territory for Chris Sinclair". Economic Times. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. TNN. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- ^ "Pepsi-Cola Sets Shift Overseas". New York Times. September 28, 1989. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- ^ Saporito, Bill (2 September 1996). "PARCHED FOR GROWTH". Retrieved 24 May 2018 – via www.time.com.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-11-05. Retrieved 2006-07-17.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Fred Meyer To Buy QFC -- Chain With National Plans Is Sold Instead". The Seattle Times. November 7, 1997. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ "Kroger to Buy Fred Meyer, Creating Country's Biggest Grocer". The New York Times. October 20, 1998. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Xchanging Buys 75% In Cambridge For $147.3 Million". Mattel. October 5, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ "Mattel Names Christopher Sinclair as Chief Executive Officer". Mattel. April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ "Mattel Names Ynon Kreiz As Chief Executive Officer, Effective April 26, 2018". Mattel. April 19, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ "Reckitt Benckiser chairman to retire in 2018". Reuters. September 19, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ "Midtown vacant lot sells for $8.7 million". Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- 1950 births
- Living people
- Hong Kong people
- American drink industry businesspeople
- American chief executives of food industry companies
- American philanthropists
- Businesspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut
- People from Palm Beach, Florida
- University of Kansas alumni
- Kodaikanal International School alumni
- Tuck School of Business alumni
- PepsiCo people
- Mattel
- American chief executives of manufacturing companies