This is a story of belief, empowerment, and hope which went on to be the largest and leading biotechnological industry, the founder and managing director of BIOCON. Most of us presume failure to be the end of a million reasons to survive. That’s where it all starts in the eyes of successful individuals and in this case, Ms. Kiran Majumdar. Leaving no stone unturned, she creates history and stands strong for lakhs of her employees,
It all started like any other normal start-up. Little did she know that an enterprise she started with two employees one being herself, in her own garage, would lead her to be the most influential woman according to Forbes. Completing her early education in Bangalore, with a bachelors’ degree in zoology. Her father, however, was ahead brewmaster at united breweries. Like another parent, Mr. Majumdar wanted his daughter to pursue fermentation science. As acknowledged, she studied malting and brewery at the Melbourne University, Australia. Due to the known technicalities in the country in the early ’70s, Kiran mostly did not find a job that suited her educational qualifications as I was a matriarchal-operated field. But luckily, she met Leslie Auchincloss, the then owner of the Irish firm Biocon biochemical. Fascinated by the dedication and ambition orientation, Shaw was taken on board for the historic launch of Biocon in India which was primarily focused on producing enzymes for beverages and other products. Things weren’t as easy as they looked. Initially as quoted as Shaw herself, she had to face a lot of credibility issues because banks did not lend funds in the first place. She did not stop. Taking as much time as to get a loan approved was not even the last thing. Surprisingly, her first two employees were retired tractor mechanics, the evident reasons being college graduates did not want to work for a start-up. The company turned tables when Auchincloss decided to partner with Unilever in the year 1989. Not before Shaw faced backslashes from her fellow Indians who were skeptical to work for a woman. It showered diamonds after the year 2001, after years of hard work, Biocon became the first Indian company to gain approval from the US food and drug administration, for manufacturing a cholesterol-lowering molecule. In 2004, on Narayana Murthy’s advice, Biocon was introduced into the stock markets. The basic intention was to initiate funds to keep the research firm going. The company’s profits surged to more than 42% in the year 2003 alone.
Shaw always believed in growing affordable innovation in the field of medical drugs catering to developing and underdeveloped countries aiming to develop and research cost-effective and low-cost alternatives. In the span of all this Shaw was already titled to many prestigious awards. She has titled the 100 most influential people tag among the times’ magazine. 2011 financial times quotes her into the top 50 women in the business list. 2015 lists her as 85th most powerful woman in the world by Fobes. The Padma Bhushan in 2005 and the Padmasri in 1989 are just some more additions. Biocon now aims to bring CAR T-cell therapy to cancer patients in India. The struggles and achievements by Kiran Majumdar Shaw is just another example to lend 100% of life and soul to whatever you adjoin to. Women can rue the world. It’s just the perspectives holding them back. Much efficient their counterparts and Shaw is just another proof to the world.
