Profile

Dianne Ripberger leads External Innovation & Strategic Partnerships for PepsiCo’s Global Research & Development Team, driving forward-thinking initiatives to integrate cutting edge technologies and partnerships into PepsiCo’s global portfolio. She creates strategies for collaborative partnerships, builds an open innovation ecosystem and aligns the technical scouting agenda. In less than 3yrs, has signed more than 40 technology development partnerships generating $350M in disruptive innovation, co-led a multi-national, research collaborations and co-created a global supplier innovation program.

With more than 20 years of R&D experience in Food & Beverage, Dianne has a proven track record of spearheading consumer-driven breakthrough innovation She established PepsiCo’s first Design-Led Innovation Team generating 160+ prototypes and developed a 5-year technology research pipeline. She led the first Global Breakthrough R&D Innovation Team across US, Europe and China launching 14 new products across multiple channels with a rapid test & learn approach.  Dianne developed the Global Process Transformation & Controls area, launching quality initiatives that paid for themselves through productivity efforts and redesign of contracting seed to shelf pay for performance.  Over six years, her team enhanced consumer quality, justified $42M in Capex, launched technology and agriculture contracting in 65 countries, and generated over $800M in savings.

Recognized for advancements in consumer centric product and process design, Dianne has received PepsiCo’s Chairman’s and Academy of Sciences Awards, as well as Creativity and Health & Wellness Research Awards. She holds formulation patents and has given industry presentations in Food Science, Predictive Modeling and Collaborative Partnerships.  Dianne has served on multiple advisory boards, and leads Recruiting with a team of 300+ associates across the three US PepsiCo Sites.

Dianne received both a Master’s of Food Science and a Bachelor’s of Biological Sciences from Purdue University.