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.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Early life
 2 In Biocon
 3 Personal life
 4 Recognition
 5 References
 6 External links
 7 Footnotes

[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] 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)
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Chairman & Managing Director, Biocon Limited

A successful technocrat of global standing, Ms. Shaw heads India’s leading Biotechnology enterprise, Biocon.
She is highly respected in the corporate world and has been recently voted by Nature Biotechnology as The
Most Influential in Bio-business person outside Europe and USA.

Ms. Shaw received a graduate honours degree in Zoology from Bangalore University (1973) and qualified as
a Master Brewer from Ballarat University, Australia (1975). Ms Shaw also received an honorary Doctorate of
Science in 2004, from her alma mater, Ballarat University, in recognition of her pre-eminent contributions to
the field of Biotechnology. She has also been awarded honarary doctorates from University of Abertay,
Dundee, U.K. (2007), University of Glasgow, U.K. (2008) and Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, U.K.
(2008).

Ms Shaw chairs Karnataka's Vision Group on Biotechnology and also served on the Board of Science
Foundation, Ireland. She presently serves on the Advisory Council of the Government’s Department of
Biotechnology where she has been instrumental in bringing government, industry and academia together, to
chart a clear and progressive growth path for Biotechnology in India. Most recently, she has been invited to
join the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade & Industry in India and the US-India CEO Forum.

Ms. Shaw is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the ET Businesswoman of the Year, Ernst &
Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Life Sciences & Healthcare, Technology Pioneer, etc. Her most
cherished awards are the national awards, PADMASHRI (1989) and PADMA BHUSHAN (2005) presented to
her by the President of India, for her pioneering efforts in Industrial Biotechnology.

Under her stewardship, Biocon has evolved from its inception in 1978 as an industrial enzymes company to
a fully integrated Bio-pharmaceutical enterprise encompassing a well balanced business portfolio of products
and services with a research focus on Diabetes, Oncology and Auto-immune disease. During this transition,
Biocon has established 2 subsidiaries: Syngene (1994) to provide development support services for
discovery research and Clinigene (2000) to cater to services in clinical development.

A leading US trade publication, Med Ad News, in its 2007 listings has ranked Biocon 20th amongst the
leading biotechnology companies in the world and the 7th largest Biotech employer globally.
 Kiran Mazumdar Shaw Profile
Born: March 23, 1953
Achievement: Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Ltd; Felicitated with Padmashri (1989) and Padma Bhushan
(2005).

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Ltd, India's biggest biotechnology company.
In 2004, she became India's richest woman.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was born on March 23, 1953 in Bangalore. She had her schooling at Bishop Cotton Girls
School and Mount Carmel College at Bangalore. After doing completing her B.Sc. in Zoology from Bangalore
University in 1973, she went to Ballarat University in Melbourne, Australia and qualified as a master brewer.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw started her professional career as trainee brewer in Carlton
& United Beverages in 1974. In 1978, she joined as Trainee Manager with Biocon
Biochemicals Limited in
Ireland. In the same year,
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
founded Biocon India in collaboration with Biocon Biochemicals Limited, with a
capital of Rs.10,000. She initially faced many problems regarding funds for her
business. Banks were hesitant to give loan to her as biotechnology was a totally
new field at that point of time and she was a woman entrepreneur, which was a rare
phenomenon.

Biocon's initial operation was to extract an enzyme from papaya. Under Kiran
Mazumdar Shaw's stewardship Biocon transformed from an industrial enzymes
company to an integrated biopharmaceutical company with strategic research
initiatives. Today, Biocon is recognised as India's pioneering biotech enterprise. In 2004, Biocon came up with an IPO
and the issue was over-subscribed by over 30 times. Post-IPO, Kiran Mazumdar 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.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the recipient of several prestigious awards. These include ET Businesswoman of the Year,
Best Woman Entrepreneur, Model Employer, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Life Sciences &
Healthcare, Leading Exporter, Outstanding Citizen, Technology Pioneer, etc. Government of India also felicitated her
with Padmashri (1989) and Padma Bhushan (2005).
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.

She had her schooling at Bishop Cotton Girls School and Mount Carmel College at Bangalore. After
doing completing her B.Sc. in Zoology from Bangalore University in 1973, she went to Ballarat
University in Melbourne, Australia and qualified as a master brewer in 1975 to become India’s first
woman Brew master.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw started her professional career as trainee brewer in Carlton & United Beverages
in 1974. In 1978, she joined as Trainee Manager with Biocon Biochemicals Limited in Ireland. In the
same year, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw founded Biocon India in collaboration with Biocon Biochemicals
Limited, with a capital of Rs.10,000. She initially faced many problems regarding funds for her
business. Banks were hesitant to give loan to her as biotechnology was a totally new field at that point
of time and she was a woman entrepreneur, which was a rare phenomenon.

Biocon’s initial operation was to extract an enzyme from papaya. Under Kiran Mazumdar Shaw’s
stewardship Biocon transformed from an industrial enzymes company to an integrated
biopharmaceutical company with strategic research initiatives. Today, Biocon is recognised as India’s
pioneering biotech enterprise. In 2004, Biocon came up with an IPO and the issue was over-
subscribed by over 30 times. Post-IPO, Kiran Mazumdar 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.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the recipient of several prestigious awards. These include ET Businesswoman
of the Year, Best Woman Entrepreneur, Model Employer, Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year
Award for Life Sciences & Healthcare, Leading Exporter, Outstanding Citizen, Technology Pioneer, etc.
Government of India also felicitated her with Padmashri (1989) and Padma Bhushan (2005).