PANKAJ R. PATEL

Q. Your best teacher in business

A. It was my late father, Ramanbhai B. Patel, who founded Cadila Laboratories and inspired me during the initial years.

Q. One management lesson for young people

A. Never lose sight of your goal and keep innovating. It is the differentiator that will always give you the winning edge.

Q. The biggest challenge you faced in your career

A. When we restructured operations in 1995 and Zydus came into being, we were at ground zero and had to start anew. At the time, we had a shared manufacturing space but no research centre, and a meagre global presence while our peers were already making headway in global expansion, consolidation through mergers and acquisitions and research programmes. For us, the challenge was to ‘project manage’ growth quickly, efficiently and innovatively with the resources we had. We had to rebuild our strengths in the Indian market.

But there was one key factor that turned possibilities into new opportunities. There was a rallying cry, a collective aspiration of people that became a compelling force and drove our growth. Today, we are an innovation-driven global pharma major with more than 21,000 people working collectively towards the mission of creating healthier communities globally.

Q. Two essential qualities a leader must have

A. He should lead from the front, and must be respectful and humble. He should inspire people to dream and create the right environment for them to grow and evolve.

“A LEADER SHOULD INSPIRE PEOPLE TO DREAM AND CREATE THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT FOR THEM TO GROW AND EVOLVE”