Ajay Harinath Singh Greatest Brand Leader 2018-2019

“Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a Padma Shree and
Padma Bhushan awardee, a rare honour from the
government of India. She has also been rightly
acclaimed as World’s 100 Most Powerful People and
top-25 Most Powerful Women in Asia Pacific”
Recipient of a large number
of Honorary Doctorates
from various esteemed
universities in Europe and Australia,
namely her Alma Mater, Ballart
University, universities of Abertay,
Dundee, University of Glasgow and
Heriot – Watt University, Edinburgh,
all based in the UK, for her
exceptional contribution in the field
of biotechnology, Ms Shaw adorns
the coveted chair of Karnataka’s
Vision Group on biotechnology
and has also been a member of
the Board of Science Foundation,
Ireland. As a member of the
Advisory Council of the Department
of Biotechnology, Government of
India, she has now been called upon
to join Prime Minister’s council
on Trade and Industry in India &
the US – India CEO Forum, as a
counsellor. Her role in integrating
and bringing the government,
the industrial organisations &
academicians together, in order to
elicit appreciable growth in the field
of biotechnology, has been widely
acclaimed & acknowledged.
Heroic Sojourn to Success
Under the visionary leadership of
Ms Shaw, Biocon has transformed
into a well-grown, comprehensive
pharmaceutical venture from
its initial status of an industrial
enzymes manufacturer in 1978.
Ms Shaw was quick to spot the
tremendous potential for growth in
the field of biotechnology. Therefore,
Ms Shaw focused on research,
particularly on diabetes, oncology
& auto-immune diseases along
with sale of products & rendering
services. There is no denying the
fact that the path of success for a
businesswoman in India is littered
with thorns. In spite of having a
Master’s degree in brewery from a
prestigious foreign university, she
couldn’t get a suitable job due to
gender discrimination. Daughter of
a brewmaster for India-based United
Breweries, she had even planned
to follow in her father’s footsteps.
After a few years of consultancy
assignments, she was invited by an
Irish corporator, Leslie Auchincloss,
owner of Bioconbio Chemicals who
foresaw her potential & zeal in the
field, as a partner in the new venture
Biocon India to produce enzymes
used in paper manufacturing,
production of alcohol & other
such products which soon earned
business in the lucrative markets
of the United States & Europe.
Due to gender bias in the country,
her business dwindled at times.
Entrepreneurs hesitated to deal with
a woman. It became an uphill task to
find employees, vendors & investors
unless she had a male manager
to negotiate. The stake in the
company held by Leslie Auchincloss
changed hands to Unilever in 1989
to Imperial Chemical Industries in
1997 & ultimately to Ms Shaw’s
husband who became a part of the
management that brought an end to
her woes of social discrimination.
Inexhaustible endeavors
Under Ms Shaw’s guidance, Biocon
India Group has established a
pioneering concept in India, which has
utilized India’s homegrown scientific
talent to make breakthroughs in
clinical research. By the turn of
the century, through the untiring
efforts & exclusively enterprising
stewardship of Ms Shaw, Biocon
earned the approval from the US
Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
for the production of cholesterol
lowering molecules. Consequently,
the profits of the company rose
by leaps and bounds. Ms Shaw’s
40% stake in the company made
her the wealthiest woman in India.
Within years, Biocon became one of
the prominent producers of orally
consumed insulin globally, obviously
through the ceaseless endeavours of
its originator, Ms Shaw.
Philanthropic Missionary
Ms Shaw’s Biocon is an R&D-centric
biotech venture, with a philanthropic
mission to provide relief to cancer
patients with 2 different bio-similar
drugs for them. The Majumdar Shaw
Medical Centre has been specially
set up by Ms Shaw to provide damn
cheap and affordable treatment for
cancer patients.
The centre is known for its
innovative and world-class therapies
for critical illnesses. A self-made
billionaire, Ms Shaw has been
decorated with full-time membership
of the board of trustees by the MIT,
USA. She is a Padma Shree and
Padma Bhushan awardee, a rare
honour from the government of India.
She has been rightly acclaimed as
World’s 100 Most Powerful People by
the prestigious Forbes magazine and
top-25 Most Powerful Women in Asia
Pacific by Fortune.
The Worldview’s list of 100 most
influential visionaries prepared
by Scientific American Magazine
includes her name among the 100
leading global intellectuals.Apart
from these acclamations, she has
received wide appreciations for her
contribution in biotechnology.
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