Pepsi chief spurred work-life debate
Brenda Barnes, a twotime corporate chief executive whose decision to leave her top job at Pepsi-Cola sparked a national debate about women juggling career and family, died Tuesday in Naperville, Ill. She was 63.
The cause was complications of a stroke she suffered in 2010, her daughter, Erin, said.
Barnes had been chief executive of Pepsi-Cola North America for a year and a half when she decided in 1997 to step down, saying that after two decades of grueling hours away from home she wanted to spend time with her three children, ages 10, 8 and 7.
She was 43 at the time and overseeing PepsiCo’s chief profit engine, based in Somers, N.Y., making her one of the most recognized women in corporate America. She resisted the entreaties of her peers to remain at the company, explaining that she had had her fill of days and nights away from her children.
“I hope people can look at my decision not as ‘women can’t do it’ but ‘for 22 years Brenda gave her all and did a lot of great things,’” Barnes told the Wall Street Journal at the time. “I don’t think there’s any man who doesn’t have the same struggle. Hopefully, one day corporate America can battle this.”
Her choice and the blunt language she used to describe the many burdens executive women had to shoulder elicited sharp reactions. Supporters hailed her decision to put family first. Detractors argued that her retreat from such a lofty post was a defeat for women fighting to be considered men’s equals in the boardroom.
The debate raged on television talk shows in the United States and in tabloid newspapers in London — much to the surprise of Barnes, who had never seen herself as a public figure pushing a cause.
A private woman by disposition (her nickname growing up was Bashful), Barnes weathered the public outcry and returned to Illinois with her family, settling in Naperville, about 33 miles west of Chicago.
She did not fully retire from corporate life, however. She became a soughtafter company director, joining the boards of the New York Times, Avon, Lucasfilm, Sears and Staples.
In 2004, with her children in high school, Barnes accepted an offer to be a top executive at Sara Lee, the food conglomerate based in Chicago. She was soon named chairwoman and chief executive — becoming one of the few women to run a major U.S. corporation — and given a mandate to revive Sara Lee’s sinking fortunes.
Barnes presided over a broad corporate restructuring, selling off noncore businesses and focusing on the company’s food brands. But the overhaul did not spur a profit recovery, and Sara Lee’s stock price remained stagnant for much of her time there.
Barnes’ stroke came in May 2010, while she was lifting weights at a local gym. It left her incapable of simple motor activities. Three months later, at 56 and after a tough rehabilitation period, she stepped down permanently from Sara Lee. She did not return to corporate life again.
Brenda Jo Czajka, a granddaughter of Polish immigrants, was born on Nov. 11, 1953, in Chicago and grew up in River Grove, Ill. a gritty suburb northwest of the city. Her father was a pipe fitter at International Harvester, the agricultural manufacturer; her mother stayed home to look after Brenda and her six sisters.
Barnes began working at 15, helping out at a neighborhood flower shop for $1.25 per hour. (As chief executive of Sara Lee, she earned $15 million per year.)
She graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., in 1975 with a major in economics.
In 1980, she married Randall Barnes, a top executive at Pepsi. The marriage ended in divorce.
Besides her daughter, Barnes is survived by two sons, Jeff and Brian; her partner, Sal Barrutia; and five sisters.