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PepsiCo Inc. is moving to deepen its management bench and line up a potential successor to Chairman and Chief Executive Indra Nooyi, tapping an outsider to a senior role and an internal candidate to a new post following investor frustration with the company's recent performance. On Monday, the Purchase, N.Y., company plans to name former senior Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executive Brian Cornell to head the company's largest and most profitable unit, according to people familiar with the matter. PepsiCo also plans to appoint longtime company executive John Compton to the new position of president, responsible for integrating PepsiCo's far-flung global operations and brands more closely, these people said. The appointments position both men, along with European operations chief Zein Abdalla, as the top internal candidates to succeed Mrs. Nooyi, who has faced investor dissatisfaction as beverage rival Coca-Cola Co. has swiped market share from PepsiCo. Mrs. Nooyi has also been unable to boost the company's stock since she became CEO in 2006. Some on Wall Street have called for a split-up of PepsiCo, which has 22 billion-dollar retail brands, including Tropicana, Gatorade and its namesake cola. Mr. Cornell, who worked at PepsiCo for six years before leaving in 2004, will assume Mr. Compton's current post as head of PepsiCo's Americas-wide food division. Last year the unit generated roughly a third of PepsiCo's revenue, or $23 billion, and half its operating profit, or $5.5 billion, with such brands as Lay's potato chips, Doritos tortilla chips and Quaker oatmeal. The hiring is a coup for PepsiCo. Mr. Cornell, 53 years old, was viewed as a potential CEO at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. after taking the reins of the 610-store Sam's Club unit in 2009 and boosting sales. But he was also considered to be behind other candidates for the job. He left the Bentonville, Ark., retailer in January, saying he wanted to move back to the Northeast for family reasons. Recently, he was approached by Avon Products Inc. about the cosmetic company's CEO opening, according to people familiar with the matter. Avon declined to comment. Mrs. Nooyi, 56, has said she "loves" her job, and there are no immediate plans for her to step down, according to people familiar with the matter. The company also has ruled out a split-up for now. Last month, PepsiCo's board said it fully backed top management and its business strategy. In a February meeting with investors, Mrs. Nooyi said that PepsiCo had "outstanding leaders'' running each of its businesses and that they "are all CEO capable.'' Mr. Cornell had been seeking a CEO position since leaving Wal-Mart but has received no assurances that he will replace Mrs. Nooyi, according to people familiar with the matter. As for Mr. Compton, the title of president doesn't automatically make him the heir apparent, people familiar with the management overhaul cautioned. Hugh Johnston, PepsiCo's chief financial officer, is also in the running but is a less-likely candidate, these people added. Mrs. Nooyi has taken several steps to boost the company's performance. PepsiCo said in February it is slashing 8,700 jobs and boosting its marketing budget in 2012 by as much as $600 million. But the company also warned that its profit will fall 5% this year, dragged down in part by rising commodity costs, even though it is targeting $1.5 billion in new cost savings by 2014. The company said it expects to return to "high-single-digit'' earnings growth next year. Mr. Compton, 50, is being entrusted with the crucial task of bringing PepsiCo's disparate parts more closely together to rein in costs and improve sales after many years of decentralized management. How well he does could determine not only whether he becomes the next CEO but also whether the company stays together. Mr. Compton joined PepsiCo in 1983 and most recently was responsible for overseeing the Americas food unit. PepsiCo said last month it will focus much of its redoubled sales push on a dozen major global brands. It plans to roll out its first-ever global marketing campaign for its struggling flagship Pepsi-Cola brand in coming weeks and to increasingly market its most-popular drink and snack brands, such as Mountain Dew and Doritos, together. Mrs. Nooyi signaled in February that the company could revisit its business strategy in 18 months if performance doesn't improve. PepsiCo executives insist that breaking up the food and beverage businesses would put PepsiCo at a big disadvantage and that it needs the combined scale to compete effectively in developing markets around the globe. But it hasn't ruled out eventually selling its U.S. bottling operations. PepsiCo's Indian-born CEO has been named in recent media reports as a potential candidate to head the World Bank, but she hasn't been approached about the position, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Abdalla, 53, has headed PepsiCo's European business since 2008 and is also considered a strong candidate to eventually succeed Mrs. Nooyi. The Sudan-born, U.K.-educated executive has been assigned to oversee the integration of Wimm-Bill-Dann, the Russian dairy giant that PepsiCo acquired last year in a roughly $5 billion deal. Last year he was also given some responsibilities in Africa. Mr. Johnston, 50, CFO since 2010, has held several positions since he joined PepsiCo in 1987, including heading Pepsi-Cola's North America business and overseeing global operations. Some industry insiders have speculated that Michael White, chairman and chief executive at the digital television company DirecTV Group Inc. since 2009, could return to PepsiCo as CEO after narrowly losing out to Mrs. Nooyi in 2006. But Mr. White hasn't been in contact with PepsiCo's board since he left the company, has had "no discussions whatsoever'' about returning to PepsiCo and "is very happy'' at his current company, said a DirecTV spokesperson. Write to Mike Esterl at [email protected] and Joann S. Lublin at [email protected]