US News selected Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo CEO among the best leaders of the year. I feel happy about her for many reasons. As usual I adore her as she is an Indian, a woman, who is an answer to many wrong myths. I feel excited as she has the same first name as mine. My grandfather gave me this name Indra, as to him my original name Dhanwantar appeared rural.

However, I have started respecting her more for two more reasons after reading the US News story on Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo. First reason was the way, she handled her rival.

By 2006, Nooyi was one of just two finalists to succeed CEO Steven Reinemund as leader of one of the world’s best-known brands. After getting the nod, Nooyi flew to visit the other contender. “Tell me whatever I need to do to keep you,” she implored. They had worked together for years, both loved music, and Nooyi was persuasive, offering to boost her competitor’s compensation to nearly match her own. He agreed to serve as her right-hand man, creating her version of a team of rivals.

I get reminded of my own early years in Hindustan Motors that I had joined in 1961 just after passing out from IIT, Kharagpur. Hindustan Motors had initiated a scheme for recruiting executive trainees since 1959. Many of my seniors from IIT were already there. Sandip Mehta had joined the scheme in 1960, but he was in another Birla company in Jaipur. After a year or two, he got himself transferred to Hindustan Motors, as his ailing parents were in Calcutta. He was asked to work for me, as by that time I had been absorbed in regular supervisory management in axle manufacturing machine shop. I never considered him my subordinate and kept him involving everything that I was assigned to supervise. Over the time, Mehta became very close. I used to call him Mehta Bhai. Mehta had made Yamuna his sister.

Because of my extreme hard work, I had established myself as better than old-timers who had been ruling the manufacturing areas. I was the first to get a promotion as superintendent. All the senior executive trainees of ’60 batch went to the boss who was an elderly and efficient gentleman though not engineer. They represented against my promotion as I was junior to them. I did not know all these things. Then one day my boss told me the story and questioned surprisingly why Mehta was in the group that represented against my promotion. I came home and sent a written note to Mehta. ‘Mehta Bhai, How would you have reacted if Ajit (his younger brother) would have been working in the same place with you and got promoted ahead of you?’ Mehta came running and with tears in his eyes. He explained how others forced him to join them. I never had any problem thereafter with Mehta. Later on, I was sent to head engine manufacturing plant after a brief training in UK in 1965. Mehta immigrated to UK and worked in various countries. He is still working in US. He kept in regular communication. He called me many times, when we were in US recently.

The second reason for respecting Nooyi is her intense personal relation as narrated in the story.

For all that, Nooyi remains profoundly personal. She told the BBC in March that she calls her mother in India twice a day. “At the end of the day,” said the CEO of one of America’s biggest enterprises, “don’t forget that you’re a person, don’t forget you’re a mother, don’t forget you’re a wife, don’t forget you’re a daughter.” When your job is done, “what you’re left is family, friends, and faith.”

I firmly believe the same and tried to do whatever best I could do for my parents when they lived with us till their death. I used to return after a tough day in the factory and with just few words with them, I would get refreshed and spirited to carry all the burdens of the life. I was blessed to serve them for some time.

I wish everyone emulate Indra Nooyi even after reaching the top in life.