Kenneth Keiser, who ran and expanded operations at a worldwide Pepsi bottling empire headquartered in Minneapolis, died Sunday of thyroid cancer. He was 60.
The Hamel, Minn., resident spent nearly 35 years working with the soft drink giant, eventually as president and chief operating officer of PepsiAmericas, one of its largest independent bottlers.
Keiser's friends and colleagues recalled his penchant for navigating complex situations and motivating colleagues.
"He ... had a wonderful reputation for challenging and pushing people and holding people accountable," said Alex Ware, former chief financial officer at PepsiAmericas. "And doing it in a way that they came away from it having learned something and ready to take the hill, so to speak."
PepsiAmericas bottled, sold and delivered Pepsi products to retailers across the country and overseas. The company, which produced 19 percent of all Pepsi products sold in the United States, reported revenues totaling $4.4 billion in 2009.
Keiser retired in 2010 when PepsiCo acquired PepsiAmericas. His departure capped a long career that began when he left college in 1977 to work as a route supervisor at a Detroit Pepsi distributor, said Mary Viola, former communications director at PepsiAmericas. The journey recently came full circle after he returned to Michigan State University to obtain his bachelor's degree in business administration.
They gave it to him last Tuesday.
"It just spoke to [Keiser's] character," Viola said. "He was goal oriented. He wanted to do it."
