PepsiCo started losing the cola wars when its CEOs lost focus

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In today’s CEO Daily: Why is PepsiCo struggling? The big leadership story: United CEO’s bold ideas. The markets: U.S. futures and European stocks are up. Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune. Good morning. PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta knows that he has a cola problem. He said “we’re not competing well in soft drinks” on his third-quarter earnings call. And last week KFC said it will switch to Coca-Cola products at its 3,700 U.S. restaurants, ending a 40-year partnership. As my colleague Phil Wahba writes, “Pepsi has suffered many setbacks in recent years, but perhaps few were as symbolic as being jilted by a long-time partner it used to own, KFC.” (Taco Bell and PepsiCo did renew their U.S. deal for 11 more years.) Why is PepsiCo’s beverage division struggling? I’d start with the decisions of Steve Reinemund, who ran PepsiCo from 2001 to 2006. Although he broadened the portfolio through the 2001 merger with Quaker Oats, which gave it Gatorade, he also created a less…

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