President

Mr. Ranjit Shahani
Vice Chairman & Managing Director
Novartis India Ltd.

Ranjit Shahani is President of OPPI (Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India) and Country President responsible for the overall operations of the Novartis Group of Companies in India.

A Mechanical Engineer from Indian Institute of Technology, (IIT) Kanpur and MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, (JBIMS), Mumbai, he started his career with ICI in India in their businesses of Fibres & Speciality Chemicals. Later, he rose to the position of General Manager with ICI / ZENECA U.K., overseeing their Asia Pacific and LatAm operations for their Petrochemicals and Plastics division.

This was followed by a period as CEO at Roche Products Limited, after which he moved to Novartis in India in 1997, following the merger of Sandoz-Ciba.

Mr. Shahani was President of OPPI from 2001-2007. He is Past President of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, President, Swiss Indian Chamber of Commerce, and was on the Council of the International Federation of Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), Geneva. He is a thought leader in the Pharmaceutical Industry and has been actively involved in lobbying for a strong Product Patent law in the country and Data Protection and liberalization of the price control mechanism for Pharmaceuticals. He has also strongly canvassed for deterrent legislation against counterfeit drugs.

He was born in Kanpur, India, is married and his wife is a well known educationist and currently also the sheriff of Mumbai – they have one son – who works with McKinsey in London.
 

Vice Presidents

Dr. Girish L. Telang is the Vice-President of OPPI & Managing Director of Roche Products (India) Pvt. Ltd. Dr. Telang is a medical graduate from Grant Medical College, University of Bombay and has also undergone post-graduate training in nuclear medicine during his five year stint in the Medical Corps of the Indian Army. He also holds a Diploma in Advertising Management. Dr. Telang has been with Roche for over 28 years and during this time he has held positions in Clinical Research, Corporate Communications, Medico Marketing and Head of the Pharmaceutical Division. He is the Chairman of the Medical Committee of OPPI.

Kewal Handa is Managing Director, Pfizer Limited, the world’s No.1 pharmaceutical company that discovers and develops break-through drugs, provides information on prevention, wellness, and treatment; consistent high-quality manufacturing of medicines, consumer products; and is a global leader in corporate responsibility. Under his leadership, the company is now aggressive in its growth plans and has launched several new products.

Kewal is a reputed industry expert who takes the lead on key issues that concern the pharmaceutical sector. As Vice President of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), he has been at the forefront of the industry’s efforts to resolve issues pertaining to the pharmaceutical sector. He is also the Chairman of DPCO & Taxation Committee of OPPI.  He has recently been appointed as the President of All India Management Association and is a committee member of various industry bodies in the country.

Kewal was awarded the ‘India CFO 2004 – Excellence in Finance in an MNC’ by International Market – Assessment Group and has recently won the Bharat Shiromani Award.

A qualified Management Accountant and Company Secretary, and with a Masters Degree in Commerce from Sydenham College, Mumbai, Kewal has completed the Pfizer Leadership Development Program from Harvard University, the Senior Management Development Program from IIM, Ahmedabad. He has also done a course on Marketing Strategy from Columbia Business School.

Mr. Handa is also the Managing Director of Wyeth Ltd.

Dr. Shailesh Ayyangar is the Vice-President of OPPI & Managing Director, India & Vice President, South Asia, Aventis Pharma Ltd., (Group Sanofi Aventis). Dr. Ayyangar is a topper is the Post Graduate Programme in Business Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA). He started his career with Ranbaxy and then moved on to Eskayef Ltd. (SmithKline Beecham) and later became the Vice President – Sales Operations for Pharmaceuticals for SmithKline Beecham. Later on, Dr. Ayyangar was selected to direct the International Tropical Medicine Initiative of SmithKline Beecham in U.K. He returned to India in 2000 to oversee the merger of SmithKline Beecham commercial operations with GlaxoWellcome and subsequent to the merger he took over as Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing in GlaxoSmithKline in India. In 2002, he left GSK to take over as Managing Director of Sanofi-Synthelabo operations in India.

Dr. Hasit Joshipura is a graduate in Electrical Engineering from VJTI - Bombay University and a Post Graduate from Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad. He has completed his Doctorate programme at the School of Management at IIT Mumbai.

After having spent about three years with the Tata Administrative Services, Dr. Joshipura has spent about 16 years with the Unilever Group of companies in India and held positions of increasing responsibility in commercial, sales, marketing and business management functions. He joined the pharmaceutical business of Johnson & Johnson Ltd., as President & Executive Director in October 2001, a position he held until August 2006. Dr. Joshipura was also the Chair person for the Corporate Contributions Programme, as well as the lead for Government Affairs for the Johnson & Johnson group of businesses in India.

In October 2006, Dr. Joshipura was appointed Vice President, South Asia and Managing Director India with GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (GSK). He is also Chairman of the board of GSK Sri Lanka. Dr. Joshipura formally took over on 1st January, 2007.

Dr. Joshipura is a member of the Board of Governors of VJTI and is also on the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
 

Director General

Mr. Tapan Ray
Director General, OPPI
Mr. Ray has over thirty years of national and international experience in the Healthcare Industry with Pharmaceuticals, Bio-Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences business based in India and the UK. Mr. Ray currently holds the position of Director General of the Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI).

 
Mr. Ray has held various senior positions like:

• International Marketing Strategy Manager, Glaxo plc, U.K.

• Director in the Board of Glaxo India Limited

• Non-Executive Director of Biddle Sawyer India Limited

• Managing Director of Abbott Laboratories India Limited

• Managing Director of Kopran Limited, India

• CEO and Director of Sami Labs Limited, India

• Chairman of the Board of Shasun Pharma Solutions Limited, Northumberland, England, United Kingdom (U.K.)

• Non Executive Director in the Board of Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Limited, India

• Member of the Council of International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), Geneva, Switzerland

• Member of the Advisory Board of Institute of Intellectual Property Studies, Mumbai

• Life Member of Bombay Management Association

• Member CII National Committee of IP owners (2010-11)

• Member of the National Committee on Drugs and Pharmaceuticals of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII)

• Member of the Governing Body of Institute of Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Management and Research (IPHMR), Kolkata

• Visiting Faculty in India's Top Management Institutes and a Key note Speaker in various National and Inter-national seminars and conferences.

Mr. Ray holds a B.Sc (Honors) and a Masters Degree in Geology from the University of Calcutta and has been a National Scholar. He was trained at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.