Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (b. 23 March, 1953 in Bangalore) is an Indian entrepreneur. She is the Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Ltd. In 2004, she became India’s richest woman.

Early life

She was educated at the Bishop Cotton Girls School and Mount Carmel College at Bangalore. After obtaining a B.Sc. Honours degree in Zoology from Bangalore University in 1973, she joined the Ballarat University in Melbourne, Australia and qualified as a master brewer in 1975 to become India's first woman Brew master. Her father encouraged her in this profession, as he himself was a master brewer in India. Her professional career started with the position of trainee brewer in Carlton & United Beverages in 1974. During 1975-77, she worked in technical positions in Kolkata and Vadodara.

In Biocon

Collaborating with the same Irish firm, she founded Biocon India with a capital of Rs. 10,000/- in her garage in 1978. The initial operation was to extract an enzyme from papaya. Her application for loans was turned down by banks on three counts – biotechnology was a new word yet; the company lacked assets and most importantly, women entrepreneurs were still a rarity. On account of the last reason, she faced problems in recruiting as well. Over the years, the company grew under her stewardship and is today the biggest biopharmaceutical firm in India. In 2004, Biocon went for an IPO and the issue was over-subscribed by over 30 times. Post-IPO, Shaw held close to 40% of the stock of the company and was regarded as India’s richest woman with an estimated worth of Rs. 2,100 crore (~U.S. $ 480 million).

Personal life

She is a civic activist, especially with respect to municipal administration in Bangalore. She is also an art

Positions held

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has held several honorary and advisory positions. A partial list is as follows: -

• 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 Member, * Advisory Council of the Government’s Department of Biotechnology
• Vice-President, Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE)

Recognition

She was termed India's Biotech Queen by The Economist and Fortune, and India's mother of invention by New York Times. Some of the major awards won by her are: -

• Padma Bhushan (2005)
• Honorary Doctorate from Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) (2005)
• Lifetime Achievement Award from Indian Chamber of Commerce (2005)
• Honorary Doctorate of Science, from Ballarat University (2004)
• The Economic Times Business Woman of the Year Award (2004)
• Whirlpool GR8 Women award for Science and Technology (2004)
• Australian Alumni High Achiever Award from the IDP Australian Alumni Association (2003)
• Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Healthcare & Life Sciences Category (2002)
• Woman of the Year from the International Women's Association, Chennai (1998-1999)
• Padma Shri (1989)
• Outstanding Young Person Award by Jaycees (1987)
• Rotary award for the Best Model Employer (1983)
• Outstanding Contribution Award (AWAKE) (1983)
• Gold for Best Woman Entrepreneur, Institute of Marketing Management (1982)

References

• Elliott, John (Nov. 14, 2005). "Biotech Queen". Fortune, p. 79–82.