Indra Nooyi, the former PepsiCo CEO who Gov. Ned Lamont tasked two weeks ago with reaching out to Amazon after the retailer dropped plans for a massive office in New York, was named Monday to Amazon’s board of directors.
Nooyi, 63, is a co-chairwoman of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, a centerpiece of Lamont’s economic development strategy, along with Jim Smith, the former CEO of Webster Bank.
After Amazon announced it was dropping plans for an office expected to bring 25,000 jobs to Queens, New York, Lamont asked Nooyi and Smith to develop a plan to bring Amazon to Connecticut.
“The state has already made an outreach to Amazon through its in-state representation, and we are looking forward to expanding the dialogue,” Lamont said on social media on Feb. 11.
During Amazon’s search for a location for a second headquarters, Connecticut submitted proposals for the Hartford and Stamford regions, and several other communities had thrown their hats in the ring, including Enfield, which proposed a site centered on the Enfield Square mall area.
After receiving hundreds of proposals, Amazon, which is based in Seattle, decided to develop two new sites, in Queens and Arlington, Virginia.
New York reportedly offered Amazon $2 billion in tax breaks to build in Queens.
It is unclear what, if any, incentives Connecticut might offer.
And although Nooyi likely wouldn’t lobby Amazon officials directly on Connecticut’s behalf, having her on the 11-person board gives the state a new presence.
Amazon already has a 900,000-square-foot warehouse in Windsor that employs 1,800 people and a warehouse in Wallingford. It’s expected to open a $250 million warehouse facility in North Haven in a former Pratt & Whitney plant.
Nooyi, who was elected Monday by Amazon’s board of directors, is the second woman of color to be added to the online retailer’s board of directors in a month. She was named to the board’s audit committee.
Amazon and other big companies have been under pressure to diversify their boards. Starbucks executive Rosalind Brewer joined Amazon’s board, the second black woman to ever sit on its board of directors.
With Nooyi’s addition, Amazon’s board now has five women.
Nooyi stepped down as CEO of soda and snack company PepsiCo in October after serving in that position for 12 years. She had been the chief financial officer for the previous five years.
