PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP: Quote) said Tuesday that Hugh Johnston will succeed Richard Goodman as the company's chief financial officer by the end of March 2010.<br /><br />PepsiCo, which is currently integrating its two largest bottlers into its operations, said that Goodman will serve as the company's executive vice president for business information systems, global procurement, global operations, and post-merger integration.<br /><br />Johnston, who currently serves as executive vice president of PepsiCo's global operations, has been with the company for 23 years.<br /><br />Goodman, 61, has served in a range of senior finance and strategy positions at PepsiCo, and played a pivotal role in completing the company's largest acquisitions in nearly a decade.<br /><br />He joined the company in 1992 as vice president of international strategic planning and has served as chief financial officer of former PepsiCo restaurant units, KFC International and Taco Bell. Later, he was named PepsiCo's general auditor and head of risk management. In 2001, he was appointed CFO of the company's international beverage unit. He was named CFO of the company's combined international food and beverage business in 2003, helping to grow the business' sales outside North America to nearly $13 billion in 2006 from less than $8 billion in 2003.<br /><br />As CFO of PepsiCo since 2006, Goodman helped to successfully steer the company through the global economic crisis and complete major acquisitions, including the purchase of PepsiCo's two largest bottlers, Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. and PepsiAmericas, Inc., in February 2010. He also established PepsiCo Finance University to support the professional development of the company's finance leaders and is executive sponsor of the resource group for PepsiCo's African-American employees. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Goodman worked with W.R. Grace and Co. (GRA) in a variety of global CFO roles.<br /><br />Newly-appointed CFO Hugh Johnston was named executive vice president of PepsiCo's global operations earlier this year, with additional responsibilities for the post-merger integration of the two bottling companies.<br /><br />Since joining PepsiCo in 1987, Johnston, 48, has held merger and acquisitions, finance and strategy positions in PepsiCo's corporate headquarters as well as finance and general management roles in the company's North American snack and beverage businesses.<br /><br />Johnston left PepsiCo from August 1999 through March 2002 to serve as Vice President, retail, at Merck Medco, leading that company's retail pharmacy card business. He rejoined PepsiCo in 2002 as senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions, and later became chief financial officer for PepsiCo Beverages & Foods, where he was responsible for leading the finance function for Pepsi-Cola North America, Tropicana, Gatorade North America and Quaker Foods North America.Johnston held this position until 2005, when he became Senior Vice President of transformation. In 2006, he assumed the role of executive vice president of operations and was responsible for the company's global transformation, supply chain, procurement and information technology functions.<br /><br />In 2007, Johnston was named president of Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages, and was responsible for strategic direction and financial performance, with accountability for sales, franchise management, field marketing and operations. Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO said, "It is with very mixed emotions that I am making this announcement because Richard not only has done an excellent job as CFO, but has been a trusted advisor to me and the entire senior management team. Richard and I have been working closely on an orderly succession plan, given his desire to step-down from his current position at age 62, and we agreed that the recent completion of our two major bottling acquisitions makes this an opportune time for the transition."<br /><br />Nooyi added, "At the same time, I am delighted to have as CFO Hugh Johnston, an extremely talented executive with deep finance and general management experience. And I am very pleased to announce that, at my request, Richard has agreed to stay on with PepsiCo in a key role, one that provides him with some well-deserved personal flexibility."<br /><br />On Monday, PepsiCo said its board approved a 7% increase in annual dividend and also authorized repurchase of up to $15 billion of its common stock through June 2013. The company increased its annual dividend to $1.92 per share from the current annual rate of $1.80 per share. The increase will be effective when the board declares the next quarterly common stock dividend, which is currently expected to be paid on June 30, 2010 to shareholders of record on June 4, 2010.<br /><br />In early March, PepsiCo said it completed the $7.8 billion acquisitions of its two largest bottlers, Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas, and reaffirmed its expectations for pre-tax synergies from the transactions of about $400 million annually by 2012. The company also reiterated its earnings outlook for fiscal year 2010 and said it expects to achieve low double-digit earnings per share growth on a constant currency basis in 2011 and 2012.