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Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

ADVANCE ALUMNI AWARD WINNER 2013


A pioneer of the biotechnology industry in India and the head of the country’s leading biotechnology enterprise, Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a highly respected businesswoman. Kiran, a first generation entrepreneur, has made her country proud with a globally recognised bio-pharma enterprise, which is committed to innovation and affordability to deliver world class therapeutics to patients worldwide. As the first woman brewmaster of India, with a pioneering spirit to ‘make a difference’, Kiran leveraged her learnings of fermentation science to pursue the road less taken and build an innovative bio-pharma company, the first in India. Today, Biocon is India’s largest Insulins Company and pioneer in the development of the world’s only pichia-based recombinant human insulin, now available in over 40 countries. Under her leadership, Biocon has become a well-recognised global brand.

Named among TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, Kiran has made affordable innovation the foundation of her business model. Recently, Economic Times placed her in India Inc’s top 10 most powerful women CEOs for 2012 and Nature Biotechnology voted her the most influential bio-businessperson outside of Europe and the USA. Her vision and work for biotechnology have drawn global recognition both for Indian industry and Biocon. In addition to her formal qualifications of a Brewmaster from Ballarat University, Australia; she holds several other honourary degrees from renowned international universities including Trinity College, Dublin; University of Abertay, Dundee; University of Glasgow and Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

Kiran is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Nikkei Asia Prize, 2009 for Regional Growth; Express Pharmaceutical Leadership Summit Award 2009 for Dynamic Entrepreneur;  the Economic Times Businesswoman of the Year; the Veuve Clicquot Initiative for Economic Development for Asia; Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Life Sciences & Healthcare; Technology Pioneer recognition by the World Economic Forum and The Indian Chamber of Commerce, Lifetime Achievement Award. Her most cherished awards are the two National Civilian Awards, PADMASHRI (1989) and PADMA BHUSHAN (2005) presented to her by the President of India, for her innovative efforts in industrial biotechnology.


Winner of the Advance Alumni Award for 2013
> Acceptance speech by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw | Watch

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