The Yin & Yang of Lupin

Putting their diverse management styles to work, Vinita and Nilesh Gupta are dreaming big billions for the pharma major.

- Aveek Datta

The duality and, yet, the underlying oneness signified by the oriental symbol of Yin and Yang is a near-perfect descriptor of the twin forces at work at Lupin: The outgoing Vinita Gupta and her backend-focussed brother Nilesh Gupta.

The joint leaders of the seventh largest generic drug-maker in the world by sales, and the third largest pharma company in India, are a study in contrasts. Lupin’s chief executive officer, 48-year-old Vinita, is an extrovert, says Kamal K Sharma, Lupin’s vice chairman. Based in Baltimore, US, Vinita is a consummate networker who thrives on going out and meeting people. “I am constantly trying to meet leaders from other companies as well as other stakeholders to get a better sense of where the industry is going, what our peers are doing, looking at ways to adapt to the changing environment and collaborating with outside folks,” Vinita, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, tells Forbes India during a phone interview.

Not surprising then that she has been entrusted with the task of building the pharmaceutical company’s front-end in the US, and playing a lead role in interactions with stakeholders, including customers and regulators. Her efforts have helped Lupin establish partnerships with marquee global names like Merck KGaA, the oldest pharma company in the world. Lupin has a strategic alliance with the Darmstadt, Germany-based Merck to jointly develop and market drugs. “Vinita is a very global-minded executive. She is extremely pragmatic and will surely take the company to newer heights,” says Belén Garijo, member of the executive board and CEO of Merck Healthcare.

Vinita, as Sharma puts it, “derives her energy from outside”.