• Ad Age, Thursday, June 21, 2007 11:15 AM

Cindy Alston, who has spent two decades building Gatorade into the country's sixth-largest liquid-refreshment megabrand, is reportedly resigning from the PepsiCo unit to spend more time with her family. Matt Knott, currently marketing director for Propel, will become vice president-marketing for the division.

Alston became CMO last September after leading Gatorade through some of its biggest years to nearly 1 billion gallons. She also oversaw the launch of Propel Fitness Water; solved the dilemma of core-user burnout for Gatorade that led to a lighter version called Gatorade Rain; and shepherded the launch of the "Is it in You" campaign for Gatorade.

In the latest available data for sports drinks, Gatorade lost 450 basis points of market share in the four weeks ended April 22, while price per volume grew 2.6%, compared to a 1.7% decline in the same period the year before, according to Morgan Stanley. Rival Powerade's share, by comparison, grew 540 basis points on an average price per volume decline of 7.5% compared to a 3.8% decline a year ago.

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