Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, India’s first self-made woman billionaire, is the epitome of resilience and diligence. Ever wondered how she became who she is? What choices did she make? As we walk through her journey you will not only realise how women of steel are made but also the hard work that goes in till and even after their dreams materialise.
Brewing Brilliance
The daughter of a brewmaster for India-based United Breweries Mazumdar Shaw had the acumen towards it from the start. However, what she actually believes moulded her was growing up in the garden city of Bangalore in the vicinity of the National Space Laboratories, going to science museums and seeing her father’s work as a brewmaster that nurtured her love for science. It was also the attitude of her father treating all his children equally and asking them to pursue their dreams fearlessly and the support of her mother that became that laid the foundation of her dreams. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw took these values where ever she went. In an interview she mentioned,
I’ve always believed that you’ve got to treat people in a very very egalitarian manner in the sense I like to treat people on a one-to-one basis
Her father taught her that Brewing is the oldest biotech, a fermentation science. Mazumdar Shaw initially wanted to be a doctor but didn’t clear a scholarship test and instead earned her dual masters in biology and zoology. Post that she decided to pursued a very different vocation and became a brewmaster earning a graduate degree in brewing from the University of Ballarat, Melbourne, in 1975.
After returning to India, as she started searching for jobs she realised there wasn’t much scope as it was considered “a man’s job”. But she wasn’t one to quit. The brilliance has just started brewing.
Papaya To Pharmaceuticals
She started looking out for opportunities as a brewmaster in Switzerland but this came to a halt when a chance encounter with Leslie Auchincloss, then owner of an Irish firm, Biocon Biochemicals. Impressed with her drive they wanted to partner with her to produce a certain plant based enzyme only found in papaya in India. In 1978, with 70% share in check with Indian laws, Kiran started Biocon India with a seed capital of Rs 10,000 in her garage. Though she faced a lot of challenges as due to her youth and gender including being interviewed in the interviews she was conducting, Mazumdar Shaw, carried on and hired her first 2 employees- two car mechanics that were just about to retire. Within a year the company made profits and she bought 20 acres of land, which now with her vision have expanded to 100 acres property.
From producing industrial enzymes Biocon expanded to create fully integrated bio-pharmaceuticals and became the largest producer of Insulin in India. Mazumdar Shaw also established two subsidiaries: Syngene (1994) which provides early research and development support services on a contract basis and Clinigene (2000) which focuses on clinical research trials and the development of both generic and new medicines. Clinigene was later merged with Syngene.
Biocon Billionaire
The company subsequently expanded exponentially. Profits jumped more than 42 percent in 2003 alone. After seeking Narayan Murty’s advice in 2004, Biocon became the first biotechnology company to be enlisted on the stock market by Mazumdar Shaw and release an IPO. Biocon’s IPO was oversubscribed 33 times and its first day at the bourses and closed with a market value of $1.11 billion, making Biocon the second Indian company to cross the $1-billion mark on the first day of listing. With 40% stake in the company, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw became the richest woman in India.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw envisioned the creation of such biotechnology that would help to solve the bigger diseases of the country such as diabetes, auto immune diseases and cancer. Mazumdar Shaw always focussed on affordable innovation and looked for cost effective and low-cost alternatives. With a talented team dedicated to R&D Biocon worked towards it and created oral meds for insulin which was a breakthrough in the field.
Foolish Courage And Common Sense
In 2009, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw established a 1,400-bed cancer care center, the Mazumdar-Shaw Medical Foundation and life came in full circle for her. Mazumdar Shaw stated that
My legacy is going to be in affordable health care. I am willing to invest in developing that model and the policies around it
She also has a wide contribution to education and is a board member of many prestigious universities such as MIT, ISB and has many honorary doctorates. In Feb 2014, she was the first woman to head the IIM Banglore board of governors.
Mazumdar-Shaw was recognised as a “Technology Pioneer” in 2000 in the World Economic Forum and Ernst & Young named her best entrepreneur in the field of health care and life sciences in 2002 In 2005 Mazumdar-Shaw also received the Padma Bhushan Award in 2005, one of India’s highest civilian honours, for her pioneering work in industrial.
With common sense and hard work on every step of the way, a clear vision, her elegance in breaking barriers and the foolish courage to continually believe in herself and her work, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has inspired generations of entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams and women to build their lives with equal courage.
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