bookcont2

BENGALURU: When she could not land the job of a brew-master in India because it was a man’s domain, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw founded Biocon out of a garage in 1978.The 25-year-old had figured that brewing was the oldest form of biotechnology known to man.

“The inspiration came from my father who told me to pursue a career that applied my knowledge. He provided the moral support to build the company and influenced me to achieve a humanitarian sense of purpose, my raison d’etre,” she said, adding that as she built her success, her credibility as an entrepreneur rose simultaneously, breaking gender barriers.

The Biocon CMD was speaking at a FKCCI’s Industry Ladies Organisation panel that launched the book ’30 Women in Power’, edited by Naina Lal Kidwai, Country Head of HSBC India.

Nirupama Rao former Indian Ambassador to U.S, Naina Lal Kidwai, Country Head and GM, HSBC India (R), Shaheen Mistry, founder Akanksha Foundation and BIOCON chief, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw lighting the lamp at the release function of a book ’30 Women in Power’ in Bengaluru.

The book chronicles success stories of 30 Indian woman leaders including bankers Chanda Kochhar (ICICI), Arundhati Bhattacharya (State Bank of India), Kaku Nakhate ( Bank of America-Merrill Lynch), lawyers Pallavi Shroff and Zia Mody, IT leaders Debjani Ghosh ( Intel) and Aruna Jayanthi (Capgemini India), entrepreneurs Mallika Srinivasan (TAFE), Meher Pudumjee (Thermax), Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, and NGO activists like Sunita Narain, among others.

“Women leaders were considered a goldfish in a glass bowl in our time. These stories prove how they are fighters who proved their disbelievers wrong. They took risks and paved way for gender inclusion in the industry ,” Naina Lal told ET.