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. 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.

Mr. K.G. Ananthakrishnan is the Vice President & Managing Director of MSD India. In this capacity, KG (as he is widely known), leads all three legacy entities in India: Fulford (India) Limited, Organon India Pvt. Ltd. and MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. He is the Vice – President of OPPI.

Mr. Ananthakrishnan has a strong track record of business leadership and a wealth of experience developed over 30 years in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. He is currently responsible for South Asia Region operations which includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.

Mr. Ananthakrishnan started his industry career in 1976 with Novartis (and its former companies) as a medical representative, eventually progressing to the position of Head, Sales & Marketing for one of its Business Units. He then moved on to senior management positions in Pharmacia India, Pfizer and Schering-Plough.

Mr. Ananthakrishnan holds a Masters in Marketing Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Bombay University, India and a Bachelor of Science degree from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. He has done a program on Finance from Insead, France and a Senior Management Program at the Wharton Business School, U.S.

Mr. Ananthakrishnan has been a speaker in leading Management schools including Columbia University - US, Indian Institute of Management, Indore, Indian School of Business (ISB) and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.

Mr. Sudarshan Jain is the Managing Director, Healthcare Solutions, Abbott Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. He is the Vice – President of OPPI.

Mr. Jain is playing an important role in business processes integration and alignment, brand and leadership pipeline building for future. He has a rich healthcare business experience of 31 years which includes stints in Piramal, Abbott, Johnson & Johnson and Lupin. He has got extensive experience in field force management, brand building and overall business operations related to healthcare field. He has been associated with over 30 brands which are among the top 300 in Indian Pharmaceutical industry. His experience covers Pharmaceutical, OTC, Hospital, Diagnostic & Nutrition business over the years.

Mr. Jain has a B.Sc. Degree in Physics from St. Stephens College, Delhi University and an MBA from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad specializing in Marketing and Finance Management.

Mr. Jain is an Executive Committee Member & Chairman of Supply Chain Committee of Organization of Pharmaceuticals Producers of India (OPPI). He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Narsee Monjee University, Mumbai (NMIMS), Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs, Mumbai (TiE) and is associated as Visiting Faculty with various leading Management Institutes in the country.

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.