Pepsi gets new lobbyist

There is a changing of the guard at top beverage maker Pepsico’s Washington office.

Galen Reser, the lobbyist who has headed Pepsico’s Washington office for 19 years, is retiring. Reser served as legislative director for Sen. Charles Percy (R-Ill.) and also worked in President George H.W. Bush’s Transportation Department before coming to Pepsico in 1991. 

{mosads}Reser will be replaced by Elizabeth Avery, who is a vice president of global public policy and government affairs for the corporation. Avery has worked for Pepsi for the past six years, having worked for ConAgra Foods and the Grocery Manufacturers Association before joining the company.

“Elizabeth will really help us take advantage of the international agencies and organizations here in Washington on behalf of our efforts worldwide,” said Dan Bryant, senior vice president of global public policy and government affairs for the company. “All these agencies and organizations have key resources we need to work with to improve public policy. Elizabeth is ideally positioned to make sure we do this right.”

Reser will probably still consult for Pepsico. Avery has already been working on health and wellness issues for the company with groups such as the Clinton Foundation as well as the White House to improve industry advertising and school policies.

For example, the soft drink industry has reduced its beverages’ calories by 88 percent in school vending machines since 2006, according to Bryant.

Those sugary drinks have attracted lawmakers’ attention. A soda tax was under consideration for the healthcare reform law that passed earlier this year, but it wasn’t added to the bill.

Soft-drink makers upped their lobbying in response to the tax push. Pepsico spent close to $9.2 million on lobbying last year, about $8 million more than the company spent in 2008.

“We believe the administration and Congress got to the right outcome, specifically in determining not to levy a tax against beverages. We concur. Such a tax will have no impact on public health,” Bryant said. “Meanwhile, the industry is working with the administration and key public health groups on how you move the needle.”

That targeting by Washington policymakers has led to one clear promise by the food and drink industry, having committed publicly to removing 1.5 trillion calories from their products by 2015.