Did I hear it right?
DPA is going to D.Dohnalik?
41 replies (most recent on top)
@1j7 toxicity started when Seth Cohen was around. He single handedly took down PepsiCo and since then there is no looking back.
I can't wait to take my severance and leave.
@24m Staying silent when leadership fails or acts inappropriately speaks volumes!
If the company, HR, Athina, etc ignore their obligations to act on all the issues brought up by our colleagues here, most of PEP employees assume the worst: that they’re complicit, or that they are hiding something! The potential fallout isn't just a moral and ethical question. It leads to business risks, damaged reputation, failed projects and waste of PEP funding!
Merging DPA with Enterprise Solutions sounds like sweeping problems under a new carpet , unless proper clean-up and accountability takes place.
Why should we care? Because trust is part of our everyday impact. What our leaders say, how they say it and what we all deliver shape how S&T is perceived and remembered. Unfortunately the picture that DPA projected over the last few years has been quite damaging.
@24m entire enterprise solutions needed to.be gutted and redone with leaner team. Too many top heavy. Gut the entire Indians leadership and start anew.
@22x no wonder those roles will be gone given the type of leadership DPA has had!
Pepsico is in decline. Layoffs will continue for years. Most of DPA roles will be gone by 2026
@1mv if your answer is always “Yes”. You’re hired. There’s no confusion there.
@1fn Athina is partly to blame for having hired - or allowed the hiring of - some questionable individuals into DPA leadership roles, starting with G-yatri! .
On several occasions, I’ve seen her reprimand one of DPA VP during a project meeting, only to witness him later undermining her and pursuing his own agenda behind her back.! Shady people relay on shady tactics and cannot be trusted!
I’ve been with Pep for 20+ years and never heard of either of these depts. but there are clearly some well rooted issues. I truly hope it gets resolved for everyone’s sake
@1fn until this toxic and bad culture is dealt with firmly with hr playing a fiddle to Indian tunes. Personally I now call out these indians irrespective of their rank. Until they are shown the door nothing will change. Quotas now on Indians and balance the overwhelming tsunami of these useless Indians.
@1a8 That comment is accurate. There is clear evidence of a lack of basic etiquette, professionalism, and manners, and at times behavior that is not only unacceptable in the workplace but also illegal. While this certainly does not apply to all colleagues of Indian background, a number of individuals including in leadership positions, of Indian background, have set poor examples and, in some cases, normalized behavior that contributed to a toxic environment within S&T - especially in DPA.
It is evident that S&T really needs a cultural and behavioral cleanup to maintain a respectful and professional environment. Let’s hope Enterprise Solutions addresses and removes senior individuals who have too often demonstrated unacceptable behavior and are simply not aligned with the PepsiCo culture we all strive to build and maintain.
Some behaviors from DPA have been made know way beyond S&T. That has damaged not just credibility of DPA and S&T but also perception of Indian colleagues across the company.
Dohnalik knows how to smell bullish….ting and lack of capable leadership in a distance, and I trust he can get rid of conduct that is simply not acceptable.
@1ce I am not an Indian but you totally miss my point. Today it's easier than ever to hire expertise across the planet. It's huge timezone differences that make IT ineffective. Leadership refuses to recognize this fundamental disadvantage of offshoring. This applies to many companies, not just PEP.
@165 I doubt that all the comments here are coming from just one or two individuals. When you look across all PepsiCo threads on the Layoff site, certain issues clearly emerge from hundreds of posts and comments: a toxic culture in S&T ( particularly in DOA) , problems with DPA leadership, concerns about diversity within S&T, and the over-representation of one particular ethnic group - Indians. It may be uncomfortable for some that people are becoming increasingly vocal about these facts!
Happy Independence Day of India - you are all appreciated, just some of your compatriots in our US offices have seriously damaged reputation of Indians , with their actions and lack of suitable leadership skills for Pepsico professional working environment.
Enjoy your Friday morning coffee ☕️
@1bs I guess you are also an Indian :D
@1am Exactly. Every Indian I've ever worked with at PepsiCo has been wonderful to work with. period. No need to denigrate anyone! The real issue is working across opposite time zones, yet we are required to be in office to supposedly enhance localized collaboration, only to don headphones to participate in Teams meetings with India in an Open Office all day.
@1a8 Dude, you're like Indian-possessed 😂! What did they even DO to you to get you this hyped?!
Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that some individuals — including a few from the Indian community — sometimes display a lack of basic etiquette and manners. Not too long ago, I witnessed someone attempting to take food placed outside a meeting room without permission; that person later felt embarrassed when caught in front of others. I’ve also seen a few people overindulge in free office snacks, prompting the cafeteria to enforce a “one bag per person” rule. Even during meetings, some tend to interrupt others rather than allowing them to finish speaking. Overall, S&T really needs a cultural and behavioral cleanup to maintain a respectful and professional environment.
@17q responding to Original .. honest truth these indians truly took this org to.the gutter. Their nepotism, corruption and hijacking everything and transforming into their fiefdom. Never was a racist but these indians made me one. Immediate quotas and tarriffs on any money going to their useful hubs.
This thread is madness. DPA saga never dies? Dohnalik I feel for you man, Athina gave you G-yatri’s castle, but forgot to mention how many damaging ghosts are still inside! You need proper ghostbusters 👻
@166 PepsiCo is more like an UNflushed t0ilet, filled to the brim with 💩.
@187 there are a lot of issues being exposed and discussed here, some overlapping. It is clear that PEPSICO and HR have allowed it to continue for some time now. The detrimental behavior of certain individuals, the selective enforcement of policies, but also the bigger and systematic issue of one group of people getting some sort of preferential treatment on what seems to be based purely on ethnicity.
This is not racism, pure facts and statistics of employee demographics across Pepsico S&T. Some people are clearly uncomfortable with those issues being discussed so openly in public forms.
@17q Avoiding xenophobic comments is essential for fostering meaningful and credible discussion. Nevertheless It’s undeniable that serious diversity and organizational issues exist within S&T and DPA, including instances of inappropriate conduct, toxic work environments, nepotism, clearly out of proportions representation of Indians and often questionable leadership appointments. While G-ayatri’s departure from DPA addressed one such failure, many others in leadership roles remained, continuing to erode trust in the organization.
I just heard t0ilet flush and it reminded me of Pepsico
@14y Seems like you're pushing a personal agenda or hashing out a personal vendetta here. Your posts reek of racism.
FYI before you blow a gasket: I'm not from the demography you keep insulting on this board. Be more civil and constructive. There’s enough hatred in this world
Some of the DPA VP roles were not funded through specific project budgets and were instead funded under DPA operating costs. Given that there is no business justification for the DPA unit to continue in its current form beyond 2025, it is a matter of when, not if, those VP roles will be phased out .DD doesnt need costly underperforming VPs.
@14a The original sin when setting up the DPS/ DPA was hiring leaders without integrity - people who only look out for how to fill their own pockets and push their careers forward, without regard for long-term consequences for Pepsico or what’s happening to their teams. A mentality straight out of the Indian caste system: ‘I’m a VP, so whatever you say is worth nothing, just do what you are told to do and stop asking questions …’. Fcuk Voice Your Opinions Fearlessly ! . That started from G-yatri and followed with VPs appointed by her . Fingers crossed D.Dohnalik will make proper and long overdue cleansing.
@vz DPA, a unit under Strategy & Transformation, was supposed to lead the charge on digital transformation and boost PepsiCo’s digital capabilities. But instead, under the failed leadership of the notorious G-yatri and her infamous VP leadership team, it turned into a complete mess. Over the years, the group burned through company resources and money without delivering real value. There was barely any proper planning nor strategy, just a lot of shady practices and backdoor deals that seemed to benefit a few sketchy VPs.
The whole thing became more about crafting a nice-looking narrative than actually doing meaningful work. Blame-shifting, incompetence, and questionable behavior became the norm, and it’s no surprise that frustrations finally boiled over at this site. From design to delivery - DPA has been a failed venture! And the diagnosis should start from its remaining VPs. I trust DDohnalik will clean up that cesspool!
@nj lol Seth cohen was like the mafia boss who started the whole mess. He thought he was the big bully because his CFO buddy had his back. CFO was pushed out and he went on a war with Athina. The whole Azure vs AWS battle? Leaders taking their battle into tech decisions and team decisions. Folks are still dealing with the trauma Seth left behind.
Everywhere he went he left dead bodies behind. Glad he was fired!!
Too bad good folks who left during his tenure don't ever want to come back.
@jg the DPA model has failed across the board. The organization was burdened with too many L-level senior roles with diluted responsibilities and little business value, delivery managers who lacked clear understanding of project scope and possessed limited knowledge of agile best practices, and DPA VPs encouraging teams to overestimate resource needed in order to secure larger budgets for their units.
There was no proper oversight nor audit of how funds were allocated and spent. And whats with having so many design directors to design data dashboards — seriously, DPA was not delivering highly complex, consumer-facing digital products that were driving revenues for PepsiCo! absurd!
It would have been more cost-effective for PEP sectors to have engaged local agencies rather than navigating the inefficiencies of the DPA org structure and hoping for the best!
madness!
The dismissal of G-ayatri only scratched the surface of the underlying issues.
@jg What’s going to happen to the DPA UX design team now? Is there any chance of getting a capable, reasonable leadership?
@fr hmmm. Notice Seth isn’t around anymore, but Dave is. I wonder why?🤔
@b5 The damaged DPA brand will finally disappear! However, unless DDohnalik removes some of the unfit leaders from DPA, he risks inflicting similar harm on Enterprise Solutions. The poor leadership appointments at DPA didn’t end with G-ayatri; there are others - particularly in VP roles - who should never have been hired. Their reputations are tarnished well beyond the S&T sphere.
@ay he did not fire any one of these folks recommended by Seth down our throats. They violate code of conduct in every sense and in front of VPs. These vps in SnT turn a blind eye and make it a norm by these evil Indians.
I though M.Bagavathi would get a piece of it,
Will this make D.D and M.B equal in level?
@b4 ha...he's the biggest AK a-s kisser
DPA - Disorganized Pandemonium of Ambiguity - also known as Digital Products and Applications - a monstrous frankenstein product of infamous G-ayatri will finally disappear! Now let´s see if Dave can do proper clean up of some of G-ayatri´s failed appointments? We have lost a lot of great talent in Pepsico, and gained too munch mediocre and at times detrimental leadership especially in DPA !
People who failed to lead, inspire, who couldn't even plan properly or behave according to our Pepsico code of conduct and standards, and they were given VP positions - raising eyebrows across organisation. Let´s see who´s out by the end of 2025!
@b3 Dave has been here long enough to know who to keep and who to let go. He could give a sh!t about those who just do an Athina song and dance. He only expects results not talk.
Dave needs to fire every single Director and above for corruption and code of conduct violations!
@af let us see. He is being set up for failure. The rot is too deep.
Hopefully all disgraced DPA VPs will be let go. It would be such a waste of PEP funding to continue paying for those failed appointments, ex Accenture wanna be consultants, with very little leadership skills so needed at S&T