What Does Pepsi Have To Gain From Trump Involvement?

PepsiCo's Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi is being pressured to exit President Trump's business council from online racial justice organization Color Of Change (COC), according to CNN.

Following the events that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia, six CEOs — including those of Intel and Under Armour— announced their departure from Trump's advisory council. Nooyi, a powerful minority woman in business, has not deterred from her post. What does Pepsi have to gain financially from associating with Trump?

According to Business Insider, CEOs were willing to join Trump's business councils as a way to help the president make better decisions about American business. As an Indian-born businesswoman, Nooyi has claimed that hiring more minorities is "a business imperative," according to CNBC. Nooyi could have joined to bring her business beliefs at PepsiCo into action within Trump's business council, which currently has 36 percent of its senior executives as people of color.

However, PepsiCo's stock is currently down, according to Bloomberg. Additionally, Americans are consuming fewer soda products as it is, a separate report from Bloomberg found. InvestorPlace reported that sales for Nooyi's company were below Coke in July.

Nooyi is now the only person of color that holds a position within the president's advisory council. Her decision to continue working alongside Trump has led COC to address a letter to her and other CEOs still involved, but the letter primarily targeted her and IBM CEO Ginni Rometty.

"Any cooperation with Donald Trump on business matters or otherwise, will be an endorsement of his hate-filled and racist rhetoric which runs counter to the family-friendly values of your company," the letter read. "We believe that it is in your best interest to quit the Business Council before you and your company are indelibly sullied with the hateful and divisive actions of the Trump administration."

COC has urged its 1 million advocates to apply pressure on Pepsi to dump Trump in its latest campaign. CEOs from Merck & Co. (Kenneth C. Frazier), Disney (Bob Iger), Uber (formerly Travis Kalanick) and Tesla (Elon Musk) quit Trump's Business Council with the help of the organization's pressure.

The campaign pleaded, "In the wake of Trump's tacit response to Charlottesville — a response that has been applauded on stormfront — it is reprehensible that any CEO would continue to carry water for this administration."

Nooyi spoke in a similar tone to COCs following the events in Charlottesville Saturday. She tweeted a response to the events, saying, "Heartbroken by the violence in #Charlottesville. Hate and intolerance are a betrayal of what we stand for as Americans."

The PepsiCo CEO initially voiced her support for Hillary Clinton during the election period. In speaking with The New York Times after the election concluded, Nooyi congratulated Trump for his win. She also added, "The process of democracy happened. We just need to let life go on."

Since joining Trump's business council in December, she has not provided comment publicly on her involvement. CEOs from Walmart and Campbell Soup Company are also receiving pressure from COC, but neither corporations seem as if they are willing to budge.

A representative of PepsiCo did not immediately return International Business Times' request for comment.