Entrepreneur Vinita Gupta is the daughter of Desh Bandhu Gupta, the founder of Lupin Limited. She’s the chief executive officer of Lupin and the chairperson of Lupin Inc. and its subsidiary Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. As a busy entrepreneur, not only was Gupta the CEO of Lupin, she was the non-executive director of Intrexon, an American biotechnology company.
With a naming on a repeated basis in Forbes Asia Top 50 Power Business women listings for Asia Pacific, Ms. Gupta has other awards and accolades that include IBM Businesswoman of the Year award, and the Women of Worth award by Outlook Business magazine.
Biography of Vinita Gupta
She was born in Mumbai, India around the years 1968 to 1969. Growing up in this city, she attended college and graduated from the University of Mumbai. Her degree was in pharmacy. She later received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the United States. It was there that she studied business management and received her degree.
She joined her father’s company, Lupin, in 1993. Her father made Lupin the largest maker of anti-TB drugs in the country. Diseases, such as asthma, tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes were rampant in India during the previous years, and her father, a former professor at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, saw the need and scaled the company to answer it. Tackling these problems as well as taking the company outside of India, became the goal of Vinita Gupta.
Joining the business as director of business development for Americas — US and Latin America – in 1992, Lupin’s Vinita Gupta was confident in her focus.
Under her leadership, Lupin emerged as a major global pharma company. She helped in establishing the company in the US and Europe. One of the largest and fastest-growing players in the US generic drugs market, her stewardship was responsible for Lupin’s success in the United States. In fact, Gupta was the Chief Executive Officer and chairperson of Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the U.S. wholly owned subsidiary of Lupin.
She succeeded in her goals, as Lupin today, according to prescriptions, is the fourth-largest pharmaceutical player in the US. It holds the position of third-largest Indian pharmaceutical company by global revenues.
Her father had always talked about his business with abundant passion. Wanting her to go into a profession, such as architecture, he thought that might be the best path for her. However, she envisioned herself in the family business and made pharmaceuticals her career.
Vinita Gupta Lupin
How did she start at Lupin? During the first three years of her career, she had a focus on understanding the regulations and requirements. She also spent time looking at the scenario of IP and patents. She was not just thinking about building strategy; she also wanted to build capacity. For this reason, she traveled extensively to countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Chile and the US. Ms. Gupta also was aware and sensitive to the capabilities of the team. She brought in experts from the outside to complement Lupin’s people, thereby growing their knowledge for participation in future new markets.
With the anti-infectives (Cephalosporins) product line (cure for TB) in India as a good starting point, the first business plan she put together saw the opportunity in Europe, the US and Japan for Cephalosporins at $10 billion. She believed that the difference would come in from the drug pipeline and product portfolio.
As the company expanded, Gupta remembers that one of the biggest reasons for her success was her father. He gave her a tremendous amount of freedom and ownership which he gave to all his executives. Supporting her when things did not go as per plan, he instilled in her the strength to succeed and follow through. From her father, she learned how to transform Lupin into a place where professionals work like family and family works like professionals. He also made her well aware of the importance of planning as well as making that plan come to fruition effectively.
Gupta works with her brother, Nilesh. They make the ideal team; she manages the front end, while he manages the back end. They partnered right from the start. Nilesh manages research and development, a pipeline that is strong, the meeting of requirements and company operations. The sister and brother work hand-in-hand.
She married Brij Sharma, a US-based entrepreneur, who is supportive of her position and achievements. They had a son in 2005, and she quickly resumed her work at Lupin.
News on Vinita Gupta
Among the most powerful women in business in India for 2020 (ranked number 7) by Fortune India magazine, she also received previous honors. In 2018, she gained the Vogue and IBM Businesswoman of the Year award. She also received the Women of Worth award by Outlook Business magazine.
She plans on retaining the culture inspired by her father, as the company moves into the future and explores new opportunities.
FAQ
Her husband is Brij Sharma, and they have one child.
She is born in Mumbai, India.
In 2021, the Vinita Gupta net worth had an estimate of between $1 to $5 million.
She joined Lupin in 1993 and has held various positions there.
