Heidi Kleinbach-Sauter
Dr. Heidi Kleinbach-Sauter is the senior vice president of PepsiCo R&D Global Foods where she has global operating responsibility for the R&D global foods and snacks business. Her role includes accelerating innovation and enhancing the food brand portfolios by applying scientific strategies to develop products with functional advantages.
With more than 20 years of experience in the food business, Dr. Kleinbach-Sauter has a proven record of leading food and beverage innovation initiatives that have delighted consumers and driven impressive business results. Previously, she served as senior vice president of product innovation for Altria Client Services, leading an R&D team of scientists, researchers and engineers focused on product innovation. Prior to this role, she served as senior vice president of R&D at Sara Lee Food and Beverage and Foodservice in Chicago. Dr. Kleinbach-Sauter also led R&D, Quality and Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for the Mueller Dairy Group in Germany, and started her career with the Campina Group, a top dairy company in Europe.
Dr. Kleinbach-Sauter earned her Doctor of Philosophy in food science, food technology and nutrition from the Universities of Giessen and Stuttgart in Germany.
