investor philanthropist an Indian businessman pharmaceutical magnate
Dilip Shanghvi was born on the 1st of October, 1955, in small town of Amreli, Gujarat, India. Shanghvi was brought up in a middle class family of Gujarati origin. The family soon moved to Kolkata, West Bengal and his father, Shantilal ran a business of selling generic drugs at wholesale. His mother was a homemaker, her main occupation was raising the children.
After completing his schooling from J. J. Ajmera High School, he studied at Bhawanipur Education Society College, which is an undergraduate college affiliated with the University of Calcutta in Kolkata, from where he attained his Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Dilip Shantilal Shanghvi launched Sun Pharma soon after graduating (1982) from the University of Calcutta with a bachelor’s degree in commerce. Initially the company marketed only a small number of psychiatric drugs, but by the early 1990s it had opened its own research and manufacturing facilities and added product lines in the fields of cardiology and gastroenterology. Shanghvi took the company public in 1994. Three years later Sun Pharma made its first international acquisition when it bought Detroit-based Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories; it also took equity stakes in two prominent Indian drug manufacturers, Tamilnadu Dadha Pharmaceuticals and MJ Pharmaceuticals.
Under Shanghvi’s leadership, Sun Pharma continued to expand at a rapid rate, acquiring more than a dozen companies and brands between 1999 and 2012. The firm’s 2010 purchase of a controlling stake in Taro Pharmaceutical Industries—following a three-year takeover battle - almost immediately doubled its U.S. revenues to more than $1 billion. By 2015 Shanghvi had fulfilled his vision of making Sun Pharma a truly global company; the firm offered products in more than 150 countries, operated 45 manufacturing sites across five continents, and employed more than 30,000 people worldwide.
Quotations:
"I like to win without fighting. But if I can't, then I'm prepared to fight".
"If I look myself as a manager, I have lot more to learn".
"Money is the outcome of my work and is incidental".
"It is always a challenge to work when people have big expectations. I would much rather feel comfortable working without expectations".
"I am not comfortable at all with this tag of being dubbed 'the richest Indian' and all the attention that follows for the reason".
Mr. Shanghvi has always been extremely polite, soft-spoken and often reluctant to talk about himself. A teetotaller and vegetarian, Mr. Shanghvi is known to be an extremely private person, living a simple life devoid of any ostentation. His friends insist that all the hype that came with his meteoric rise has not changed him over the years. Mr. Shanghvi’s innate ability to spot opportunities and talent are characteristics which have hugely benefited Sun.
Quotes from others about the person
Mr. Shah: "Totally self-made man who is always willing to learn. His most important quality, unlike other CEOs, is that he is a patient listener not given to losing his patience”.
About 25 years ago he met Vibha, a vibrant young woman whom he courted and later married. Dilip and Vibha have two children - Aalok and Vidhi. Aalok, who now heads international marketing at Sun Pharma, is currently being groomed to take on a senior position in the organisation. He studied at the University of Michigan and worked his way up from the position of product manager that he took on in 2007. Like his father, Aalok is also reported to be a media-shy person. He is married to Karishma Mehta whose family owns Deepak Fertilisers & Petro-chemicals Corp. Vidhi is a Wharton graduate and is also working with the organisation.
She owns a total of 0.43% stake in the Sun Pharmaceuticals shares. She, along with her husband is a supporter of many charitable organizations and they constantly donate millions in funds to various organizations on an annual basis.
Aalok is the son of DIlip Shanghvi and was born in the year 1988. He started his career back in 2007 when he joined the Sun Pharmaceuticals as a Product Manager. He is a graduate from the University of Michigan in Molecular Biology and was inducted into the board of Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a company that Sun Pharmaceuticals recently acquired. Along with a friend, he started PV Powertech Pvt. Ltd, which is a solar panel making company. Aalok is married to Karishma Mehta, who is the granddaughter of C.K. Mehta.
