AIBC dinner address with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on leadership and India-Australia bilateral biotechnology opportunities

The Australia India Business Council hosted a dinner address with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the founder of India’s leading biotechnology enterprise Biocon and Chair of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore on March 6 at the Four Seasons Ballroom in Sydney.

Mrs Mazumdar-Shaw is reportedly, India’s wealthiest self-made business woman named in TIME Magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’ and is a well-known as a prominent philanthropist too.

AIBC National Chairperson, Dipen Rughani, officially welcomed the guests and Ms Kiran Mazundar Shaw and John Shaw the Vice Chairman of Biocon.

Dipen Rughani, while acknowledging AIC for supporting the event said, “It was a privilege indeed to host a dinner for MS Mazumdar Shaw “, Dipen also shared that, “AIBC is keen to further strengthen the relationship we have with the Australia India Council”,

AIBC National Vice-Chair Sheba Nandkeolyar formally introduced Kiran-Mazumdar-Shaw before her presentation.

Sheba Nandkeolyar,said, “Kiran is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry in India and  her presentation to the AIBC members is particularly relevant because she has always been a strong advocate for economic liberalisation. She has also written several articles in leading newspapers urging the Indian Government to quicken the pace of reform,”

While sharing her Business journey with AIBC members and guests, Mrs Mazumdar-Shaw , humbly called herself an ‘accidental entrepreneur’.

Mrs Mazumdar-Shaw, said, “Entrepreneurship is a test: It is about going from failure to failure without giving up.” She had many fascinating insights to share.

Mrs Mazumdar-Shaw shared her ideas on opportunities in the field of biotechnology for Australia and India as well as the importance of the Australia India business relationship, before engaging in an extremely lively Q&A session. In her presentation, she emphasised on the importance of leadership which according to her is about thinking out of the box, about innovation and differentiation to create value and competitive edge.

Mrs Mazumdar-Shaw ,said, “Today, leadership is also about global branding and finally, it is about giving back,”

Talking about her early education in Australia, Mrs Mazumdar- Shaw ,said, “My experience in fermentation science in Australia, taught me to be independent as I was in a completely different world from what I am used to in India, as a 21 year old. It helped me develop a keen interest in the subject and made me a daring entrepreneur, all of which I leverage off to date in my journey.”

The question and answer session was extremely interactive and engaging.

Mrs Mazumdar-Shaw, now has a street  “Mazumdar Drive”  named in her honour on the grounds of Federation University Australia, where she previously gained her Honorary Doctorate, is a shining example of the strengthening business relationship between Australia and India.