Ronald Schellekens, the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of PepsiCo, has spent his entire professional career helping organizations get the most out of their talent. For nearly four decades, he's worked in HR leadership for some of the largest brands around the globe, which has involved living in seven countries for the accomplished executive.
Most recently, Schellekens has played a critical role in elevating PepsiCo's reputation for being a stellar place to work at. His tenure as CHRO began in 2018 and since then he's overseen the soft drink giant's global HR function, which includes talent acquisition, personnel management, leadership development, capability building, compensation, and benefits, among other areas.
PepsiCo, whose products are enjoyed by consumers a billion times each day, owns and leases a significant amount of real estate around the world. Besides his CHRO duties, Schellekens is also responsible for the company's global real estate function. By all accounts, he has found nothing but success at PepsiCo. In fact, his company reached Global Top Employer status in 2020, 2021, and 2022 – an annual recognition which is only granted to 15 companies around the world.
Interestingly, this is Schellekens's second stint with PepsiCO. Early in his career, he spent nine years working for the company in various senior human resources roles, including assignments in Switzerland, Spain, South Africa, the U.K., and Poland.
Always looking for a new challenge, Schellekens then spent nearly six years at Shell as EVP HR for its global downstream division. In 2008 he left Shell to serve as Group HR Director for Vodafone, which at the time was the world's largest mobile communications company, with more than 130,000 associates. In that role, he was not only responsible for the Vodafone Human Resource Management function, but he was also in charge of the company’s property and real estate functions. During his decade-long tenure, Schellekens played a key role in supporting the transition of Vodafone from a mobile-centric company to a total communications provider – including fixed and fiber company acquisitions; and integration across the Europe business.
In 1986 Schellekens began his career in HR at AT&T, where he was based in Poland. He holds two degrees. He received a bachelor's in human resources and a master's in management and organization from TIAS Business School in the Netherlands.