Cipla will stay close to innovation: Subhanu Saxena

Subhanu comes to Cipla with a diverse work experience across sectors, companies and locations such as Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.

By Rupali Mukherjee, TNN | Updated: Apr 13, 2013, 10.39 AM IST

MUMBAI: There’s something different about Subhanu Saxena — the new global CEO of drug major Cipla. To begin with, though he has spent his entire life overseas, he has a deep knowledge of Sanskrit, the Vedas and Vedanta. And he speaks half a dozen global languages, including French, German and Russian.

Subhanu, 48, who has a graduate degree in engineering from Oxford University and an MBA from INSEAD, France, joined in February after CMD and promoter Y K Hamied decided to step down as MD after a 50-year-long stint. Hamied is credited with developing affordable generics of exorbitantly priced medicines , and particularly for launching an AIDS cocktail drug at less than a dollar a day, which revolutionized its treatment a decade ago. Cipla has grown from sales of a mere Rs 50 lakh in 1960, ranked below 50th in the domestic retail market, to over Rs 6,000 crore now, cornering the secondlargest market share.

Subhanu comes to Cipla with a diverse work experience across sectors, companies and locations such as Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. In his last assignment, he led the global product strategy at Swiss major Novartis, with responsibility for marketing, sales, global medical affairs and health economics.

Having lived and worked in culturally diverse places across the globe, he says, “The biggest challenge wherever I have been is how to connect with people from different cultures and backgrounds and align them to excel around a common purpose.” In his responsibilities across global locations, his proficiency in several languages served him well. “I think it’s vital for a leader to get to know the heart and soul of the people they work with. If you do that and connect, you can help people do extraordinary things,” he said in his first ever media interaction after taking over at the helm of India’s fifth-largest pharma company.

Though the soft-spoken Subhanu left India as a child — all of three — his love for India and its culture is very apparent. After his graduation , he learnt Sanskrit at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London from teachers who came from Mattur in Karnataka . Through them, he met gurus again from Mattur, who taught him about the Vedas and Vedanta. (Mattur in Karnataka has a ‘Sanskrit’ village where people converse in the ancient Indian language). His roots are deeply ingrained in Lucknow, clearly evident from his diction . Besides, he feels an emotional connect with the city, like most NRIs. Ask him to recite his favourite verse, and he rattles off:

Amantram aksharam naasti

Naasti moolam

anaushadham

Ayogyah purushonaasti

Yojakas tatradurlabhah

(There is no letter or sound that cannot become a sacred mantra. There is no plant that cannot become a life-saving medicine. There is no such thing as an unworthy person. The person who can bring out such qualities, however, is rare.)

There is a strong connect between his learnings of the spiritual path and the business life he espouses. “The heart of our ancient teachings is to live your life as a yajna , a sacred offering to a higher cause in the spirit of compassion, service and sacrifice . For, a life where you have given more than you take is a fulfilled life. As a leader, one must give this higher purpose to an organization and dedicate oneself in the spirit of humility and compassion to ensure a company plays that role of service in society. This has always been at the heart of Cipla’s values, which is why it was such a wonderful cultural fit for me. Leadership is then about unleashing the talents of a company to that higher purpose and recognizing and building on the unique gifts in every person.”

In between his business life and spiritual pursuits, he finds time to play the guitar and listen to music. Metallica , incidentally, is his favourite band. In Cipla, Subhanu has hit the ground running. Within weeks of his joining, the company announced a 100% acquisition for Medpro , its distribution partner in South Africa , for around $512 million. (Cipla hasn’t been very aggressive on growth through acquisitions). “We are now moving in a decisive way on key decisions for the business. We were able to finalize our revised approach for the deal in my first 10 days and have just rolled out a new organization blueprint six weeks into my role for delivering our next phase of Cipla’s growth,” he says.

So what’s the blueprint? To achieve a higher trajectory, the 48-year-old has chalked out a three-pronged strategy with a better focus on certain markets and therapies, and is executing a rich pipeline of drugs. “We want to maximize what we have in key therapy areas — ophthalmology, oncology , NDDs (new drug delivery systems) and respiratory” and the emphasis is on highserving markets (in terms of revenues) like Africa which contributes 40%, the Americas (23%) and Europe (17%).

First, “we will focus on building a marketing and sales front-end in markets that have a critical mass of branded generics business — for example South Africa and other emerging markets.” He says in case the Medpro shareholders do not approve the transaction, Cipla will pursue other identified investment opportunities outside South Africa. Second, it will also develop strategic partnerships for entering certain markets such as Japan and Turkey where it has minimal presence while also targeting direct tender markets like the UK and Germany.

Over the next 12-24 months, he wants to capture the opportunity , prioritize areas and make investments in the right products. The company is already building a leadership team in Europe, US and Australia . It will also look at selective in-licensing marketing deals with MNCs, which has not been a focus area till now.

It’s organic growth that he wants to chase for now, with innovation at the core. “M&As are not a focus. Cipla is ready for growth primarily through organic means, which will then be complemented by inorganic growth, only if it is the right deal at the right price. We will stay close to innovation” . At a time when the world of business is obsessed with freshness, innovation should be the key.

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