AH Vignette #9: Feelin' Free

Richard Nixon, the CEO who took Pepsi abroad and left his rivals in the dust, dead at 87
Nancy Gibbs
Washington Post
February 13 2000

Richard Milhous Nixon, the former Chief Executive Officer of Pepsi Cola and the only owner of the Washington Redskins to be forced to sell the team, died last night at the UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles.

He was 87 years old and suffered cardiac arrest on Friday evening. He was the victim of a stroke two months prior. Initially, he survived a first heart attack, being able to move his limbs and speaking in a slurred tone, but suffered a bigger one later on while in hospital.

His wife Marianne Liu and children, Mark Nixon and Janet Nixon-Rodham, sat beside him as he passed.

The UCLA Medical Centre released a statement, saying: "Mr. Richard Milhous Nixon died at 5.24 P. M. as a result of the heart attack he suffered on Friday, February 11. He went with his family beside him."

In a statement issued by current PepsiCola CEO Meg Whitman, Nixon was described as "A brilliant man who stopped at nothing to improve the situation of the company he inherited and those who worked for him." Whitman went on to say "He was a truly monumental figure who transformed Pepsi. We are all the lesser for his loss."

Mr. Nixon departed his position in 1970, but to this very day, his face and name is synonymous with the soft drink sold on the shelves of supermarkets. Many of his proposals to revamp the company failed, but the ones that didn't continue to sell well.

Corporate politics has failed to 'get' someone like Richard Nixon since his retirement. Many have attempted to mimic Nixon's all-out style, and all of them have failed. The 'kitsch' style that defined Nixon's stewardship of Pepsi Cola is one that is unmistakable, and is one that would have failed miserably had it been employed by anyone other than Richard Nixon.

He saw record profits for the company in the twenty years he ran it, and revamped its image totally. But he still had his detractors. His rivals in the Coca Cola company dismissed him as a "snake-oil salesman," while certain members of his own board of directors called for his resignation at each unrolling of a new product. He did not heed those calls, instead going on to serve for the longest time of any CEO in PepsiCola.

Nixon got his start in 1938, at the age of 25, with the founding of the Citra-Frost company. He, along with other investors, saw an opening in the market. Citra-Frost sold frozen orange juice, though of the course it was only the concentrate that was frozen. Nixon had to start off small, squeezing the oranges himself. Eventually, Citra-Frost gained success as it was shipped across the world. The situation improved further with the beginning of the Cold War, as Citra-Frost goods were rapidly sold in the Eastern Bloc.

Pepsi Cola's board of directors took an interest in Citra-Frost, wanting to bring Nixon on board. He consented, selling the business for 20 million dollars in 1949, and joining Pepsi Cola soon after. He arose to the position of President and CEO the year following, replacing Walter Mack. One board member, Herbert Barnet threatened to quit, but backed down after a meeting with the new president.

Nixon repudiated anti-Soviet feeling within the company, despite having Cold Warrior misgivings of his own. Eyeing Coca Cola's position outside of the US, Nixon traveled to Moscow for the World Fair in 1959, where Pepsi outshone the other stalls and Nixon drank Pepsi with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Nixon's pivot to Russia would continue with the introduction of 'Ruby Pepsi', a cherry cola whose can was cloaked in a crimson reminiscent of the Soviet flag.

Nixon also expanded Pepsi into the Arab market, taking advantage of Coke's unpopularity in the area for its support of Israel. Nixon himself favoured Israel, but the realist in him saw the opportunity. This divide would lead to accusations of anti semitism, an accusation the company would fail to shake off in years to come.

One of Nixon's regrets was the decline of Citra-Frost. Under Pepsi, the product was re-branded as 'Pepsi Orange'. Unfortunately, a factory error meant that the juice was frozen rather than the concentrate, leading to the project eventually being canned.

He took advantage of popular stars at the time, too. He branched out into the NFL, hiring Redskins star player Sonny Jurgensen for use in advertisements.

His famous slogan, 'Pepsi's The One!' came into usage in 1957, as a positive catch-all phrase that would match up to Coke's 'Things Go Better With Coke'. It succeeded, with Coke's ad agency struggling to match it. This exercise in PR, along with others, led to him garnering the nickname 'Kitsch Rich'.

However, that nickname fails to describe Nixon's own personally. An introvert, Nixon spent many a night peering over sales reports. He also had a penchant for drawing up ideas for billboard ads, with his wife Marianne joking that she had to buy seven trash cans a week, one for each day. He also took great joy in playing the piano, with him playing renditions of favourite tunes at each Pepsi Cola Christmas party.

Nixon retired in 1971, leaving behind a polarizing legacy. Within months of leaving Pepsi Cola, he bought the Washington Redskins team. Nixon had always been a great fan of football, the Redskins in particular. While CEO, he used a hefty portion of his salary to attend games with his children.

However, his tenure as owner would not be well regarded. Despite his good intentions, his unwillingness to use his own money to buy players meant that the team's funds began to deplete. A series of dismal performances along the summer of 1972 and 1973, combined with Nixon's increasing conflict with head coach George Allen led to the intervention of the NFL, who forced him to sell the team to New Orleans Saints owner David Dixon. The Redskins episode remained one of Nixon's greatest grievances, as he believed that the team would have triumphed in the 1974 Superbowl had he continued.

President Heinz issued a statement that said: "Richard Nixon is an example of the American Dream. His rigor and conviction lead to great successes for Pepsi Cola, and he recognized that business could be done in the Eastern Bloc in an era when such attitudes were unthinkable." Heinz stated that he will attend the funeral for Mr. Nixon, which will take place on Thursday in the Nixon Center in Yorba Linda, California. The former CEO's body will be driven to the Center at 12 P.M. Tuesday.

Eulogies will be delivered by Nixon's wife and children, Heinz, California Governor Kathleen Brown, Whitman, and his son-in-law Hugh Rodham. He leaves behind a fortune of $100 million.
 
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In a statement issued by current PepsiCola CEO Meg Whitman, Nixon was described as "A brilliant man who stopped at nothing to improve the situation of the company he inherited and those who worked for him." Weisser went on to say "He was a truly monumental figure who transformed Pepsi. We are all the lesser for his loss."

Who's Weisser?
 
Thank you. This vignette serves as an expansion of this post over in the 'what if they didn't get into politics thread':

Richard 'Rich' Nixon - Former CEO and business magnate, became CEO of Pepsi-Cola after selling the highly successful Citra-Frost to the company in 1952. Quite well regarded in his attempts to market Pepsi outside of America, notably introducing 'Ruby Pepsi' in a blatant attempt at pandering towards the Russian market. It was during his stewardship of PC that he garnered the nickname 'Kitsch Rich', a reference to his marketing schemes (including the aforementioned Ruby Pepsi). Also bought the Washington Redskins in 1971, nearly bankrupting the team in an attempt to buy out well-regarded players. Died in 2000 at the age of 87, leaving behind a fortune of over 50 million dollars.
Angela Eagle - Economics lecturer at Oxford, and patron of the Fabian Society. Keen on chess, often winning at inter-university contests.
 
How did I not see this earlier!?
Great as ever sp00ky.
Predictable as ever. ;) /jk

Btw, this was (kind of OTL) - Nixon really did try to get into the frozen orange juice market in the late thirties. He failed because they froze the juice rather than the concentrate.
 
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