Indra Nooyi
PepsiCo chief executive Indra Nooyi leads a class of six Indian Americans who will receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — PepsiCo chief executive Indra Nooyi and author Fareed Zakaria are just two names that make up a six-person class of Indian Americans to receive this year’s edition of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the highest civilian award immigrants can receive in the U.S.

This year saw a total of 88 winners, joining Nooyi and Zakaria are Dinesh Paliwal, Dr. Annapoorna S Kini, Yashvant Patel, Mohan H. Patel, as well as Pakistani-American Dr. Adil Haider.

Nooyi has served as Pepsi’s chief executive since 2006 and company chairman since 2007. She’d previously served as the company’s chief financial officer, senior vice president and as the senior vice president of corporate strategy and development.

Zakaria, most widely known for his “Fareed Zakaria GPS” show on CNN, also works as a columnist for The Washington Post. In years past, Zakaria also served in the same capacity at Newsweek, as an editor at Newsweek International and as the editor-at-large for Time.

The Ellis Island Medal of Honor, founded by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, are awarded annually to individuals whose accomplishments in their field and service to the country are cause for celebration, the organization said in a statement. Since the award’s inception in 1986, it has been officially recognized by both houses of Congress as one of the nation’s most prestigious accommodations.

NECO has honored distinguished and diverse Americans, including six former presidents of the U.S., former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as esteemed Americans such as Frank Sinatra, Lee Iacocca, Quincy Jones, Muhammad Ali, Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, Louis Zamperini and Rosa Parks.

This year’s winners will receive their awards during a ceremony at Ellis Island on May 13.