Dilip Shanghvi

How a B.Com Graduate Built the Largest Pharmaceutical Company of India.

Dilip Shanghvi is one of India’s wealthiest businessmen and the founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals. He was given Padma Shri the fourth-highest civilian award in India in 2016. According to India Today’s 2017 list of the most powerful Indians in the world, he came in at number eight. With a $14.3 billion net worth as of October 2021, Forbes ranked him as India’s 12th richest person. What made this commerce graduate so successful in the pharmaceutical industry, let’s learn.

His Mantra: “Never start digging a well when there is fire.”

He asserts that although it is impossible to foretell when a crisis will arise, it is always preferable to prepare for it and anticipate it so that you can survive it when it does.

Quick Facts:

Name: Dilip Shanghvi

Nationality: Indian

Net Worth: USD 14.3 billion as on October 2021(Forbes)

Education: J. J. Ajmera High School, Bhawanipur Education Society College; University of Calcutta (B. Com)

Occupation: Businessman and Stock Trader

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Designations: Founder & MD, Sun Pharmaceuticals

Date of Birth: 1 October 1955

Age: 67

Place of Birth: Amreli, Gujarat, India

Marital Status: Married

Spouse’s Name: Vibha Shanghvi

Children: 2, son & daughter

Spoken Languages: English, Gujrati

Book: The Reluctant Billionaire by Soma Das (Biography)

Hobbies: Reading books and Watching movies

Early Life:

Dilip Shanghvi was born on October 1st, 1955 in a village of Amreli, Gujrat, to the Jain Bania family. Shantilal Shanghvi and Kumud Shanghvi are the names of Dilip’s parents.

Shantilal N. Shanghvi, his father, was a drug wholesaler. Shanghvi lived with his parents in the Burrabazar neighbourhood of Calcutta during his childhood and undergraduate years. He attended J. J. Ajmera High School and Bhawanipur Education Society College for his undergraduate studies.

Dilip Shanghvi graduated from the University of Calcutta with a B com – Bachelor of Commerce degree. He went to J. J. Ajmera High School as well as Bhawanipur Education Society College.

Career:

Sanghavi began by assisting his father with the wholesale distribution of medications, primarily generic drugs, in Kolkata. While doing this activity, he had the idea that he should make his own pharmaceuticals rather than selling others’ products.

Sanghavi, then 27 years old, ultimately opened his first manufacturing facility in 1982 with a capital investment of INR 10,000. His company is called Sun Pharmaceutical Industries. The facility, which was near Vapi in his home Gujarat and was only a short drive from Mumbai, produced only one psychiatric medication. Sanghavi’s financial acumen and drive, however, helped the industry quickly rebound, and the company began exporting to neighbouring nations in 1990, and it went public in 1994.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited acquired Caraco Pharma, a loss-making American company, in 1997 with the goal of strengthening Sun’s presence in the United States. Sun Pharmaceuticals also purchased Israel’s Taro Pharma in 2007. In 1990, Sun established its own research and manufacturing facilities. Dilip was appointed CEO and Managing Director of Teva Pharmaceuticals in 2012.

Sun Pharmaceuticals and Daiichi Sankyo announced in April 2014 that Sun Pharmaceuticals will purchase shares of Ranbaxy; the acquisition finalized in March 2015, making Sun Pharmaceuticals the fifth largest corporation in the world and the largest pharmaceutical company in India. In January 2018, Dilip Shanghvi was appointed to the 21-member central board committee of the Reserve Bank of India by the Indian government. Also, Dilip has been selected as board of governors’ chairman for the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, or IIT Bombay.

The largest chronic prescription firm in India and the largest Indian pharmaceutical company in the US are both called Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited. The company is India’s largest chronic prescription company and the fifth-largest speciality generics company in the world. Shanghvi was a personal investor who was active outside of his position at Sun Pharma. His interests were expanding outside of the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in the area of renewable energy.

Personal Life:

Dilip is married to Vibha Shanghvi. They have a son, Aalok, and a daughter, Vidhi, both of whom work at Sun Pharmaceuticals.

Philosophy:

Dilip, the smart businessman, had an ideology to keep his customers: “A man’s body is like a car.” Man, like a car, needs more attention and repair as he ages, and this treatment is likely to continue for a long time. As a result, he preferred to concentrate on pharmaceuticals that individuals must take for an extended period of time.

Besides, it is clear that Dilip, who comes from a background in business, did not have much knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry. However, he hired people who were professionals in this area to make up for it. Having said that, he chooses to provide his own employees opportunity rather than allowing job stealing! First and foremost, because bringing in an expert from outside would be useless if you removed his knowledge, but if you gave your own employees the same chance to grow their skills, you might create a dependable and devoted team.

Honours & Awards:

Dilip Shanghavi received the award Padma Shri in 2016.
Businessman of the year 2010 by Business India
He was given the CNBC TV 18 First Generation Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
He was awarded Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011.
He received the Indian of the Year (Business) award from CNN IBN in 2012.
Business Standard awarded his company, Sun Pharmaceuticals, the Company of the Year title.
Forbes included Sun Pharmaceuticals in its list of the 100 most innovative businesses worldwide.
The Frost & Sullivan India Healthcare Excellence Awards presented Sun Pharmaceuticals with the Cardiovascular Pharmaceutical Company of the Year honour.
The JRD TATA Corporate Leadership Award was given to Dilip by the All-India Management Association (AIMA).
Dilip’s wealth increased from $4.1 to $18 billion, moving him up to the position of second-richest Indian and putting him on par with Azim Premji.
He received the Economic Times’ Business Leader of the Year award in 2014.