3M Company’s chief design officer has left to join Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo, Inc., where he’ll serve in the same position.

Mauro Porcini will assume his new position on July 2. He’ll be responsible for “infusing design thinking” into PepsiCo by globally managing design for a variety of food and beverage brands, PepsiCo said. Chief design officer is a new position at the food and beverage giant.

“It is important for our brands to have a consistent and compelling ‘voice’ across geographies, media channels, and consumer touch points,” PepsiCo President John Compton said in a statement. “Mauro is a proven leader in architecting and managing a global design strategy, and his creativity will influence all physical and virtual expressions of our PepsiCo brands.”

Porcini—a 37-year-old Italian—joined 3M’s European operations in 2002 as a design manager and became head of global strategic design in 2005. He moved to Minnesota in 2010, and according to his LinkedIn profile, he became chief design officer in March of this year.

Porcini managed 3M’s design strategies and projects with teams in the United States, Italy, China, and Japan—and he worked with the company’s business and R&D leaders to evolve and nurture 3M’s design culture, producing innovation and growth through an “experience-driven” approach, PepsiCo said.

Under his direction, 3M has created numerous stylish product designs, including unique plastic tape dispensers, as well as light-emitting mats and ceiling fixtures that made their debuts last year in Milan.

Representatives of 3M couldn’t immediately be reached Tuesday morning to discuss whether there are plans to find a successor for Porcini.

Prior to joining 3M, Porcini founded and owned design firm Wisemad SrL with Italian show business producer and music star Claudio Cecchetto. There, he led creative projects for clients in the technology, multimedia, and entertainment industries.

Porcini’s transition to PepsiCo comes shortly after the company recommitted to its top global brands. In February, PepsiCo announced plans to increase advertising and marketing support of its brands by $500 million to $600 million in 2012.

PepsiCo’s annual revenue tops $65 billion, and its 22 brands each generate more than $1 billion in annual sales; the company’s top 12 global brands are Pepsi, Lay’s, Gatorade, Quaker, Tropicana, Lipton, Sierra Mist/7-Up, Doritos, Cheetos, Mountain Dew, Sun, and Mirinda.

“PepsiCo has an amazing portfolio of brands and I’m truly excited to help build a global design architecture that conveys brand content more widely and faster than ever before,” Porcini said in a statement. “As we build global brands, I look forward to partnering with my new colleagues to leverage design thinking as an asset to produce innovative and creative solutions. Together, we’ll craft a strong design system to deliver consistent and engaging experiences with our brands wherever they are in the world.”