Kiran Mazumdar Shaw Executive Chairperson – Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Executive Chairperson – Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a first-generation entrepreneur and global business leader with over 4 decades of experience in biotechnology. Fueled by her passion, she started her biotech journey in 1978 from her garage in India. Today, that journey is changing lives for the better across the globe. She is regarded as an unconventional thinker with many firsts to her credit. Under her aegis, Biocon delivers on the promise of making medicines accessible and affordable to millions of patients worldwide.

Chairperson of the Board of Directors since inception.

Year of birth: 1953

Professional experience

• First-generation entrepreneur
• Founded Biocon in 1978
• Non-Executive Chairperson, Syngene
• International Board member, Infosys
• Board member, Narayana Hrudayalaya
• Board member, United Breweries
• Vice Chair of the USIBC Global Board of Directors
• Member, National Academy of Engineering (NAE), U.S.
• Member, The Advisory Board of The France-India Foundation
• Full-term member, MIT Corporation, U.S.
• Member of the Board of Trustees, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, U.S.
• Member, Board of Trustees, Keck Graduate Institute, U.S.
• Global Alumni Ambassador – India, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia
• Victorian Business Ambassador, The State Govt. of Victoria, Australia
• Signatory, The Giving Pledge
• 45+ years of experience in Biotechnology

Recognitions

• Recipient of Padma Shri (1989), Padma Bhushan (2005)
• Recipient of EY World Entrepreneur of the Year (2020) and EY Entrepreneur of the Year India Award (2019)
• Recipient of Order of Australia (2020)
• Recipient of ICMR’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Achievement in Healthcare (2019)
• Recipient of AWSM Award for Excellence (2017)
• Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour (2016)
• Recipient of Othmer Gold Medal (2014)
• Recipient of Global Economy Prize for Business (2014)
• Ranked among world’s 16 Most Powerful Women in Leadership in 2021 by CEO Magazine

Education

• B.Sc. (Zoology Hons.), Bangalore University
• Post-Graduate Diploma, Malting and Brewing, Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education, Melbourne, Australia
• Honorary Doctorates from several prestigious universities, including:
  • Deakin University, Victoria, Australia
  • Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
  • University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK
  • University of Abertay, Dundee, Scotland, UK
  • Ballarat University, Australia
  • Presidency University, Kolkata, India
  • Bennett University, Greater Noida, India

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a pioneering biotech entrepreneur, a healthcare visionary, a global influencer, and a passionate philanthropist. As a leading woman in science, she is a role model to millions. She is steadfast in her pursuit of innovative technologies that enable affordable access to healthcare, and is committed to making a difference to billions of lives globally.

She has scripted a hugely successful entrepreneurial story by building Biocon, an innovation-led global biopharmaceuticals enterprise, which has made outstanding contributions to life sciences & research, and generated global respect for India.

Kiran has received several coveted awards, honours and titles, both national and international, in recognition of her inspiring achievements.

National Honours:
• Padma Bhushan (2005)
• Padma Shri (1989)

Key International Recognitions:
• EY World Entrepreneur of the Year (2020)
• Order of Australia, Australia’s Highest Civilian Honour (2020)
• Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour), France’s Highest Civilian Award (2016)
• AWSM Award for Excellence, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, U.S. (2017)
• Othmer Gold Medal, Chemical Heritage Foundation, U.S. (2014)
• Global Economy Prize for Business, Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Germany (2014)

Global Influencer:
• Member, National Academy of Engineering (NAE), U.S.
• Full-term Member, MIT Corporation, the board of trustees of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
• Member, Board of Directors, U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC)
• Global Alumni Ambassador by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia
• First Business Ambassador to South Asia, for the State of Victoria, Australia.

Global Rankings:
• First and only Self-Made Woman Billionaire from India; Ranked No. 22 by Forbes on world list (2017)
• TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World (2010)
• World’s 100 Most Powerful Women; Ranked No. 65 by Forbes (2019)
• Ranked No. 1 in Business Captains category on Medicine Maker Power List (2018)
• Fierce Biotech’s list of World’s 25 Most Influential People in Biopharma (2012)

Board Memberships:
• Infosys Ltd: A global leader in technology services & consulting. www.infosys.com
• Narayana Health: A large hospital chain recognised for providing affordable access to world class healthcare. www.narayanahealth.org

Compassionate Capitalist:
• Second business leader from India to sign the Giving Pledge, an initiative of the Gates Foundation, committing to give the majority of her wealth to philanthropic causes.

In addition to her formal qualifications as a brew master, Kiran holds honorary degrees from several renowned international universities.