Imagine the most unimaginable accomplishments & that is the most easiest description of DILIP SANGHVI: Founder & Managing Director of Sun Pharmaceuticals. Son of a wholesale pharmacist. Handled patient information leaflets as a boy in Kolkata. First generation entrepreneur. Has a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Calcutta. Moved to Mumbai at the age of 27 with barely Rs 10,000 in his pocket and some experience at his father’s business. His first factory came up at Vapi in Gujarat and he never looked back. A self made Billionaire. Very recently surpassed Mukesh Ambani in terms of networth. A low profile personality by choice. Likes reading management books. Loves watching Hollywood action movies. His brother in law Sudhir. V. Valia is the Director in Sun Pharma. His son & daughter are also involved in Sun. Very informal with his employees. Known for speaking Gujarati even in board meetings.
Take Home Points For Future Billionaires:
His business starts at break fast. He invites his key team members for business discussions over break fast.
His company releases 30-40 new products every year. He started Sun with 5 products & 5 people in 1983. The turning point came in 1991 when the opportunities opened up for pharma industry along side IT.
3/4th of the business revenue is from international market. Sun Pharma’s market capitalisation is more than that of Lupin, Cipla and Dr Reddy’s combined (the second, third and fourth most valuable pharma companies, respectively).The growth stimulus is through international acquisitions. It has made 16 acquisitions since 1997.
His first acquisition was Caraco Pharma, a loss-making American company that accounts for 60% of Sun's revenue today. It took a quiet a longer time to turn around & he used to answer " Be patient, I won't be wrong".
Known for very fast & accurate decisions. Many of his decisions surprised not only the people around him but also the industry. The world admired his decisions only in the long run.
An Unconventional Strategist: Every one was surprised when he had stepped down as Chairman to accommodate an international pharma strategist into the Sun family. He has a unique talent for turning around companies in distress. He has been consistent and balanced in his expansion plans and implementation. He has not played safe to reach the zenith of success in his illustrious career and he has taken many unconventional steps to take Sun Pharmaceutical Industries to the numero uno spot.
Transformational Leadership: He was a hand on guy attending every product launch or review meeting but now is focusing on empowering his team to lead & take big decisions. His regular interaction with CEOs of his company is mostly over con calls.
His is the first ever pure-R&D Company enlisted with Indian stock exchanges.
His Business philosophy:"Life has been very kind to us. We never faced any major difficulty so far. We do not have a pre-decided strategy or a five-year plan. We always set targets for a year and try to achieve them, and tackle issues as they come,"
His Business Strategy: His focused drugs(for example, cardiovascular, ophthalmology or cardiology) are being marketed by different companies with a different logo,brand identity and functions almost like separate companies. This helped them develop strong sales network & penetrate into every corner of India.
His is the company only next to Infosys that has been rewarding shareholders with 30% increment year on year. His stock has seen its price go up 35 per cent every year for the 20 years it has been listed, starting 1994. From a shareholder’s perspective, these returns are astronomical: an investment of Rs 10,000 then has become Rs 50 lakh today and this doesn’t include dividends.
He is very optimistic on the Ranbaxy takeover. He assured that no employee will be fired but absorbed.
He supports mergers & shaking hands.He observes that today there is a large amount of duplication as many Indian companies are doing the same things," he further adds that "if the same investments were focused on new business lines, they might do much better."
He has recently purchased 23% stake in Suzlon Energy promoted by Tulsi Tanti. This helps him foray into energy sector as a part of his business diversification plans. The strategic aspect of the deal is that Suzlon Energy which is into solar energy will buy solar panels manufactured by PV Powertech promoted by Aalok Shanghvi, the son of Dhilip Shanghvi. It means that when he opens a door, many get opened.
(Courtesy: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rs10-k-became-223-billion-30-years-ramanujan-rukmaji?trk=v-feed&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3B10QYoLrF2wr%2FzZeaBpgU9w%3D%3D)