Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (b. March 23, 1953) is and Indian entrepreneur. She is Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon India Limited. In 2004, she became India's richest woman. In the Spring of 2005 Nature Biotechnology designated her “The most influential person within biotechnology outside the USA and Europe”. Business magazines The Economist and Fortune have previously titled her “India’s Biotech Queen” and the New York Times “India’s Mother of Inventions”.[1]
Contents
Biocon
- Biocon www.biocon.com was founded in 1978 by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in her garage in Bangalore where she struggled to extract enzymes from papaya. Today it is a world-leading biotech company focusing on pharmaceutical development and production in India. With its two sister companies, Syngene Intl and Clinigene Intl, Biocon has a fully integrated biotech operation specialising in biopharmaceuticals, custom research, clinical research and enzyme manufacturing. In 2005 Biocon had a staff of some 2,000 employees and a turnover of approximately USD 130 million.(ibid.)
Biocon and Biotech
She has steered Biocon's transition from an industrial enzymes company to an integrated biopharmaceutical company recognised as India's pioneering biotech enterprise.
As Chairperson and Mission Leader of CII's National Task Force on Biotechnology she has led several delegations to propel India into the global super league of biotech trailblazers. She chairs Karnataka's Vision Group on Biotechnology and also serves on the Board of Science Foundation, Ireland. Co-author of several patents in Biotechnology, she been instrumental in bringing government, industry and academia together to chart a clear growth path for Biotechnology in India.
Affiliations
- Chairperson and Mission Leader of CII's (Confederation of Indian industry) National Task Force on Biotechnology
- Member, The Prime Minister’s Council on Trade & Industry in India.
- Board member, BVGH (Bio-Ventures for Global Health)
- Member, Board of Science Foundation, Ireland
- Member, Board of Governors, IIM Bangalore
- Chairperson, Karnataka's Vision Group on Biotechnology
- Advisory Council of the Government’s Department of Biotechnology
- Vice-President, Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE)
Accolades
She is the recipient of several prestigious awards including Best Woman Entrepreneur, Model Employer, Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Life Sciences and Healthcare, Outstanding Citizen, Technology Pioneer, etc. Her most cherished award is the PADMASHRI, presented to her by the erstwhile President of India, for her pioneering efforts in Industrial Biotechnology.
Personal Life
In 1998, she married John Shaw, an Scotsman and Indophile from Scotland at Madura Coats. John Shaw resigned as the managing director of Madura Coats the same year and joined Biocon as its Director for International Business and the Vice Chairman of the Board.
References
- Elliott, John (Nov. 14, 2005). "Biotech Queen". Fortune, p. 79–82.
- ^ Indian biotech queen: Stockholm is a leading biotech centre, December 5, 2006
