look for in-licensing partnerships
in this space. “We felt there was
better resource allocation possible
for the capital that we had earlier
earmarked for the biosimilars
programme,” says Vaziralli.
Cipla’s efforts at transformation
have caught the eye of peers as
well. “I am impressed with the way
the leadership team is shaping up
at Cipla. Under Samina and strong
professionals like Umang, the team
has turned Cipla around and set
it on a strong growth path,” says
Nilesh Gupta, managing director
of Lupin. “Samina’s clarity of
vision and belief in professionals
sets the path for greatness.”
v
ohra says the fact that Vaziralli
wasn’t involved with the
family’s pharmaceuticals
business earlier is a blessing in
disguise. “The fact that she hasn’t
been with the company for too long
makes her braver to take decisions,” he
says. “We have made some tough calls
over the last two years and it takes
someone to be a little emotionally
distant from the legacy of the last 82
years to be able to support them.”
For Vaziralli, her tryst with Cipla
was her tryst with destiny; something
she hadn’t planned for. After finishing
her studies, Vaziralli was working
with Goldman Sachs in the US as an
investment banker. She relocated to
India with her husband Rohan when
he was tasked with setting up global
cosmetics brand Estée Lauder’s India
operations. After moving to India,
Vaziralli had two sons (now aged 11
and seven) and was on a break from
work. When she decided to start
working again, her father and uncle
suggested that she join Cipla. In 2011,
Amar Lulla, Cipla’s former joint MD,
had just passed away and there was a
big void in the company. “They [YK
Hamied and MK Hamied] decided to
take a step back and professionalise
the company. It was at this point
that they entrusted me to take the
company’s legacy forward.” At Cipla,
Vaziralli began by assuming charge
as the global head of strategy and
M&A and leading the incubation of
the consumer health care business.
Had things gone as per the original
plan, it would have been her younger
brother Kamil Hamied who would
have got the top job at the company.
But in 2015, Kamil decided to quit
Cipla to become a venture capitalist.
“Was I prepared for it [the current
role]? No. But that is the way of the
world. That’s why I have focussed on
building a very strong, experienced
management team and a board at
Cipla that I can rely on,” says Vaziralli.
“Samina plays an important role
of being the bridge between the
professional management of the
company and the board, as well
as between the promoters and the
board,” says Adil Zainulbhai, an
independent director on the board
of Cipla (he is also the chairman
of Network 18, publisher of Forbes
India). “She has really stepped up
during the transition of executive
responsibilities at Cipla from the
older generation to the current one.”t
here are “healthy arguments
and debates” between Vohra,
Vaziralli, her father and uncle
about what’s best for Cipla. But the
promoters see the light of reason
when suggestions are rooted in logic
and backed by data, says Vohra. And
if the seniors are still not convinced,their views logically carry a “fairly
significant amount of weight”, he adds.
The old guard too has warmed
up to their successors. “Samina has
exceeded all our expectations. She
has grown into the role. Not only does
she understand Cipla and its people
well but also the industry,” says MK
Hamied. “Regarding Cipla’s future, we
have to keep up with the times.” YK
Hamied says his niece has done well
to develop not only a robust leadership
at Cipla but also a competent
second line of management.
For the Hamieds, treading a middle
path between business expansion
and profitability on the one hand—
and serving a humanitarian cause
on the other—is an imperative. “If
you are in health care, you cannot
look at it as a hard and fast business.
You have to have a humanitarian
approach,” says YK Hamied.
This is something that Vaziralli is
mindful of, as evident from Cipla’s
recent tie-up with the American
Cancer Society and the Clinton
Health Access Initiative to expand
access to essential cancer treatment
across various African nations. It has
also set up a palliative care facility
for terminally ill patients in Pune.
Vaziralli says multitasking and
patience are the two biggest lessons
that motherhood has taught her.
Given the future path that she
has set for herself, these virtues
are bound to come in handy.c pla’s Five-Year share price movementiSource: BSE800700600500400300
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2017Share Price (`)^606360december 29, 2017 forbes india | 79