Andrall E. Pearson, 80, Was President of PepsiCo

Andrall E. Pearson, whose legendary business career and devotion to family served as a model to many, died at his home March 11 in Palm Beach, Fla. Following many years of robust health, he died suddenly of a heart attack. He was 80 years old.

Successfully reinventing himself in a series of significant positions, he forged a business career that spanned more than 40 years. He served as a partner of McKinsey & Co., president of PepsiCo, tenured professor at Harvard Business School, general partner of Clayton, Dubilier and Rice, and chief executive officer and founding chairman of YUM Brand. He was scheduled to retire from the YUM board in May 2006.

Born in Chicago, Ill., on June 3, 1925, Mr. Pearson earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. He attended the university along with his identical twin brother, Richard Pearson.

Following graduation, Mr. Pearson and his brother enlisted in the Navy for a three-year stint at the end of World War II. Both brothers then attended Harvard Business School, graduating in 1947. After graduating, the Pearson twins met the Pope sisters, also identical twins, and subsequently married in a double ceremony in 1951. The couples recently celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary together March 2.

After graduation and a short stay at Standard Brands, Mr. Pearson joined McKinsey & Co. He focused on consumer product companies. While there, Mr. Pearson was recruited to PepsiCo as the chief operating officer; he subsequently became the company's president. At PepsiCo, he focused on creating a winning culture and recruiting top talent at all levels of the company. He was at the vanguard of the "cola wars" and was instrumental in the global expansion as revenues grew from $1 billion to $8 billion on his watch.

Following PepsiCo, Mr. Pearson joined the faculty as a tenured professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business, where he taught from 1985 to 1993 and became professor emeritus. At Harvard, he brought his keen intellect and analytic skills to focus on general management practices. He authored a number of leading articles in the Harvard Business Review, including Muscle-build the Organization and Corporate Redemption and the Seven Deadly Sins, which are still widely distributed today.

He left Harvard to become a general partner of the private equity firm of Clayton, Dubilier and Rice from 1993 to 1997. There he was involved in numerous buyouts including Lexmark, Kinko's and Alliant Food Service. 

While at Clayton Dubilier, he worked with PepsiCo to assist in the spin-off of the restaurant division, then comprising KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. PepsiCo chairman Roger Enrico asked Mr. Pearson to serve as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of this new public company. Mr. Pearson stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer in 2000, although he continued on the board.

Mr. Pearson served on numerous public and nonprofit boards, including Citigroup, the May Company, TWA, YUM Brands, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York University Medical Center. He was recently named one of the nation's most significant directors by the Outstanding Directors organization.

He was an avid collector of Pre-Columbian art, an avocation he refined over the past 25 years. In 2002, the collection was exhibited at the Art Institute in Chicago. In the fall of 2004 his collection was featured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, called Heritage of Power: Ancient Sculpture from Western Mexico. Since that time, the Pearson family has made significant donations of their collection to the Met.

His passion extended to golf where, as a member of Blind Brook in Purchase, N.Y., Lost Tree and Everglades in Palm Beach, Fla., and Birnam Wood in Santa Barbara, Calif., he earned the sobriquet Mr. Golf and was often heard commenting on his game that "Nobody does it better." He celebrated his first hole in one in 2003, while playing with YUM's David Novak.

Mr. Pearson resided in Palm Beach, Fla., and Santa Barbara, Calif., where he recently purchased a home just two doors down from his brother and sister in law, reunited after living on opposite coasts for 50 years. He previously resided for many years in Bronxville, N.Y., where he served on the board of Lawrence Hospital and as an elder of the Reformed Church. He also was a frequent visitor to Martha's Vineyard over the past 25 years.

His success in business was well known. His love of family was legendary. He is survived by Joanne Pope Pearson, his wife of 55 years; his twin brother, Dick, and sister in law, Jany Pearson, of Santa Barbara, Calif.; his daughter and son in law, Jill and Alan Rappaport, of Bronxville, N.Y., and seasonal residents of Chilmark; and two beloved grandchildren, Alex and Hilary.

A memorial service will be held at the Reformed Church, 180 Pondfield Road, Bronxville, N.Y., on Saturday, March 18, at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cardiovascular Research Fund at the New York University Medical Center, 560 First avenue and 32nd street, New York, NY 10016.