Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

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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.

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[edit] Early life

She was educated at the Bishop Cotton Girls School and Mount Carmel College at Bangalore. After completing her Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from Bangalore University in 1973, she went to Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education (now University of Ballarat), Australia to study brewing and qualified as a master brewer in 1974. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw started her professional career as trainee brewer in Carlton & United Beverages in 1974. In 1978, she joined as a Trainee Manager with Biocon Biochemicals Limited in Ireland.

[edit] In Biocon

Collaborating with the same Irish firm, she founded Biocon India with a capital of Rs. 10,000/- in 1978. The initial operation was to extract an enzyme from papaya. Her application for loans was turned down by banks on two counts – biotechnology was then a new word and the company lacked assets. 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).

[edit] Personal life

She is a civic activist, especially with respect to municipal administration in Bangalore. She is also an art collector. She has authored 'Ale and Arty,' a Coffee table book about brewing beer illustrated by paintings of some of India's renowned artists. Famous brewing families and beer firms are the subject of the book. In 1998, she married John Shaw, an expatriate manager 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. He is also a great enthusiastic trekker.


In an interview with the Deccan Herald dated September 9th, 2003, Ms. Shaw revealed pride in Bangalore, the city where she was born and brought up and her disappointment about the changing beauty of old Bangalore she knows. In her interview, Ms. Shaw lamented at the crumbling beauty of Bangalore that was at one time a paradise city with a soul. She felt that Bangalore has a unique culture of its own and the infrastructure had not kept pace with development and hence led to decay in the beauty of the city. She felt that Bangalore culture includes its own theatres, food, music, academics, architecture. "There are very few cities in India where academicians and scientists are glorified the way they are in Bangalore", she said.

In her effort to preserve the character of Bangalore, she has been proactively involved in various city improvement plans like the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF). Being a lover of art and arty things, her office is adorned with artifacts and paintings by Yusuf Arakkal and various other artistes reflect her feelings. She has been a trustee of the Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat as well.

Ms Shaw holds very dear the MV Memorial Award she was given (MV popularly stands as a nick name for the great visionary Sir M Vishwesharaiah, architect of modern Karnataka). According to Ms. Shaw, she personally knew Sir MV and were good family friends. The award reminded her of her childhood days and she felt honoured to receive it.

ACHIEVEMENTS OF MS.SHAW.

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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: -

  • Interviewed by Channel NewsAsia in programme Conversation with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, series 3

Episode 1 (2008)

  • Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award (2006)
  • 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)

[edit] Contemporary Controversies

Despite claiming the Bangalorean tag, she is alleged to have never bothered to learn the local language Kannada and is known to advocate the supremacy of English. Some of the recent controversies include

  • Controversy over a lip-lock: Vasundhara Raje and Kiran M Shaw[1]
  • Questioning the contribution of poets and philiosophers to society: Who’s Anantha Murthy? What’s his contribution?[2]

[edit] References

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

[edit] External links

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Controversy over a lip-lock: Vasundhara Raje and Kiran M Shaw
  2. ^ Who’s Anantha Murthy? What’s his contribution?