Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

"Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a pioneer of the biotechnology industry in India and the founder of the country’s leading biotechnology enterprise, Biocon. Named among TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, "She has received two of India's highest civilian honours, the Padma Shri (1989) and the Padma Bhushan (2005). Other prominent awards include, Ernst & Young Best Entrepreneur: Healthcare & Life Sciences Award (2002), The Economic Times Business Woman of the Year Award (2004) and Nikkei Asia Prize for Regional Growth (2009).

"Ms Mazumdar-Shaw holds key positions in various industry, educational, government and professional bodies. She has been appointed as a member of the high-level expert committee constituted by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to review the autonomous organisations under the administrative control of the department and more recently as a Governing Council Member of the National Institute of Immunology, an autonomous research institute of the DBT. She has been appointed as Member of the Steering Committee of the National Biopharma Mission, an industry-academia collaborative mission of the DBT. She is Non-Executive Chairperson of the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE), a not-for-profit pan-India forum representing the Indian biotechnology sector. She is a founder member of Karnataka's Vision Group on Biotechnology, which she currently chairs. She has also been appointed Chairperson of the Karnataka government’s Vision Group to encourage pharma and medical devices units in the state. She serves as a member of the Governing Body of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission and has previously served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Pharmacopeia Convention. She was elected Foreign Member of Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in 2006.

"Ms Mazumdar-Shaw is Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and has been appointed as Global Alumni Ambassador for Australia by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. She is also on the board of advisors for The National Society of High School Scholars, US and is a founder member of the Society for the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Bangalore.

"She serves as Independent Member of the Board of Infosys Ltd and Non-Executive Director on the Board of Narayana Health. She features on the Global Advisory Committee for the Women and the Green Economy Campaign (WAGE)™ initiative. She is also associated with The Live Love Laugh Foundation, a leading not-for-profit organisation spreading mental health awareness, as a member of its Board of Trustees. She is also the Honorary Consul of Ireland in Bangalore.

"Ms Mazumdar-Shaw’s commitment to affordable healthcare extends beyond business. Her philanthropic initiatives are directed at making a difference to the lives of the marginalized communities. Through Biocon Foundation’s primary healthcare centres, telemedicine initiatives, health awareness programs, public health and sanitation initiatives and preventive screenings for oral and cervical cancer, she is making an enduring impact on society.

"She has also established the 1,400-bed Mazumdar-Shaw Medical Center in Bangalore to deliver affordable world-class cancer care services to patients irrespective of socio-economic status. She has also set up the Mazumdar Shaw Center for Translational Research, a non-profit research institute dedicated to developing scientific breakthroughs for treating a wide range of human diseases. Her philanthropic efforts have led her to be featured in the Forbes’ List of ‘Heroes of Philanthropy’. Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw is also the second Indian to join the Giving Pledge global initiative created by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates that encourages billionaires to give the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.

"Ms Mazumdar-Shaw holds a bachelor’s degree in science (Zoology Hons.) from Bangalore University and has earned a master’s degree in malting and brewing from Ballarat College, Melbourne University. She has been awarded with several honorary degrees from Ballarat (2004), University of Abertay (2007), University of Glasgow (2008), Heriot-Watt University (2008), National University of Ireland (2012) and Trinity College, Dublin (2012) for her pre-eminent contributions in the field of biotechnology.

Ms Mazumdar-Shaw is married to John Shaw, a Scotsman and Indophile, who headed a leading textiles MNC Madura Coats from 1991-1998 as Chairman and Managing Director. John Shaw is currently the Vice-Chairman of Biocon. "

• Director, U.S.-India Business Council

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