Mehmood Khan

Mehmood Khan, MD, FACE, is Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of PepsiCo, Inc.,where he is responsible for guiding the company’s long-term research strategy and agenda for business opportunities. He provides global leadership and support to division research and development groups in the areas of enterprise research planning, R&D portfolio management, next generation technologies, nutritional standards, food safety and regulation, and quality assurance. He is also working with the divisions to accelerate PepsiCo’s global R&D competencies, capabilities, and talent pipeline. One specific area of interest worth highlighting is in the area of global undernourishment. "PepsiCo is concerned that there are almost 1 billion people in the world who are hungry, and 2 billion with micronutrient deficiencies," Dr. Khan explains. "These nutrition problems hamper the intellectual and physical growth of many in developing countries and limit the economic productivity of these countries." Mehmood is leading PepsiCo in developing a corporate approach to addressing the need for high-quality affordable nutrition. His team is currently scoping the size of the problem in India, South Africa, and Nigeria; working with several corporate and NGO partners to identify the best products and delivery systems needed; and working with internal business units to build a sustainable financing model. "The current food and nutrition crises are set to drive over 100 million people into poverty. PepsiCo's approach involves leveraging our core business capabilities (including our R&D, distribution, agriculture, and marketing areas) and drawing upon the best outside groups to work with-these include the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, UNICEF, the World Food Program, leading nutrition scientists and USAID. We hope to launch pilot studies in India and South Africa during 2009," Dr. Khan says. Prior to joining PepsiCo in 2007, Mehmood served as President of Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc (TGRD). In this role, he led all aspects of TGRD’s business, in both its Deerfield and UK offices, including developing new product candidates, conducting post-marketing clinical studies, and identifying and developing innovative lifecycle management approaches for marketed drugs. He was formerly Senior Vice President of Medical & Scientific Affairs for Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America (TPNA), Inc. With 20 years of experience in both the academic and clinical arenas, Dr. Khan led all aspects of TPNA's Medical and Scientific Affairs departmen