Ivanka Trump calls Indra Nooyi a 'mentor and inspiration'

Lauding outgoing PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi’s engagement on various social causes, Ivanka Trump, who is an advisor to her father Donald Trump, called her a mentor and an inspiration.

"The great @IndraNooyi is stepping down as PepsiCo CEO, after 12 yrs. Indra, you are a mentor + inspiration to so many, myself included," Ivanka tweeted.

Ivanka also said she was "deeply grateful" for Nooyi's friendship and praised her for her involvement in issues that benefit the “people of this country, and beyond."

Chennai-born Nooyi will step down as down PepsiCo’s CEO on October 3. She has been with the company for 24 years, the last 12 years as CEO.

“Today is a day of mixed emotions for me,” Nooyi said on Twitter. PepsiCo “has been my life for 24 years & part of my heart will always remain here.”

Nooyi will be replaced by Ramon Laguarta.

On Tuesday (7), Nooyi was among the top corporate leaders hosted by US president Trump for a dinner at his private golf club in New Jersey to discuss the state of the country's economy.

The dinner was an "opportunity for the President to hear how the economy is doing from their perspective and what their priorities and thoughts are for the year ahead," the White House said in a statement. Trump is believed to have referred to Nooyi as one of the “most powerful” women in the world.

Other corporate heads who attended the dinner include MasterCard's chief executive Ajay Banga, Fiat Chrysler CEO Michael Manley, FedEx president and CEO Fredrick Smith and Boeing's chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburg.

"You talk about business, this is the group,” Trump said. “And we're so honoured to have you. And we're gonna be discussing later on some of the ideas you may have to, as the expression goes, make America great again."

He added that the group had been "big beneficiaries" of his policies and "you've helped in many cases."