Indian Pharma's Maverick Thinker

Arun kumar has led strides shasun into the fortune india 500, off it, and into the next 500. He claims to not have a strategy, and that puzzles investors. He’s been buying and selling bits of the company, but finally seems to be in Consolidation mode.

 

- T. Surendar

BENGALURU. MONDAY. 8.30 A.M. I’m waiting to meet Arun Kumar, CEO of pharmaceuticals company Strides Shasun, which was on the Fortune India 500 (as Strides Arcolab) until 2013. Then disaster struck, and it fell off the list; it wasn’t even in the top 1,000 any more. It has now managed to claw its way into The Next 500. I want to ask Kumar about this roller-coaster ride. Early as it is, Kumar has been here an hour already—he has worked out, showered, changed, and put in some desk time. He says he’s due to talk to his senior management to explain a restructuring exercise. What’s he going to tell them, I ask. What’s his strategy? “Most times, I don’t have a strategy, just a perspective,” he says with a grin.

That, more than anything else he says later, defines Kumar and the way he has run Strides since 1990. It’s always been about doing something slightly unexpected. So, when most other pharma companies were chasing growth in the American markets, Kumar looked to Australia.

Then, he focussed on injectibles, which large players find unattractive. Kumar’s reasoning: It’s better to be a big fish in a small pond. Choosing this business also meant he could ensure stability in pricing, unlike in the large-volume generics market where discounts rule. If that’s not strategy, I need a new dictionary.

More important, Kumar has a track record of selling off parts of the company, acquiring new bits, and generally confounding the market time and time again. Reason enough for investors and analysts to ignore the company so far. Nobody understood Kumar’s business model.