Kirti Ganorkar: Why the veteran insider is the right dose for Sun Pharma
Mumbai: For nearly thirty years,
Kirti Ganorkar
quietly stood at
Sun Pharma
as a rock, much like his astute boss
Dilip Shanghvi
, the founder of Sun Pharma. Steadfastly Shanghvi steered
Sun Pharma
from a small India-focused branded generic player to one that is rapidly emerging as a
global specialty drugs
company.
From September 1, Kirti Ganorkar (58), a chemical engineer and a diehard cricket aficionado, will helm India's largest drugmaker as its managing director, while Shanghvi will continue in the role of executive chairman.
In a June 13 statement, Sun Pharma said this marks the culmination of a structured and forward-looking succession planning process, underscoring the organisation's commitment to leadership continuity and strategic governance.
For Ganorkar's elevation, the timing is crucial given the global scale of Sun Pharma's operations. It includes a growing and challenging business environment in the US, Europe and a range of emerging markets while keeping Sun Pharma at the top of the intensely competitive home market, India.
For FY2025, Sun Pharma had sales of ₹52,041 crore, a 9% growth over the previous year, while its net profit stood at ₹11,984 crore, up 19%. Of which, Sun Pharma's global specialty products sales stood at $1.21 billion (₹10,334 crore), up 17.1%, and accounted for 19.7% of FY25 sales. Alone, Sun Pharma's India sales contribute over 32% of its global revenues.
When Ganorkar made his move from German Remedies (acquired later by
Zydus Lifesciences
in 2001), a united entity for a group of German pharma companies and joined Sun Pharma in 1996 as an executive assistant to Shanghvi, the
Indian pharma market
was very different. Sun Pharma was at a fraction of its present size.
The market was poised for a leap in sales of drugs for heart ailments, diabetes, neurology, and cancer, the segments that have been the primary focus for the company. Now, the dynamics have changed with almost every large Indian company showing prowess of deep reach and scientific expertise as they try to outclass others from in-licensing innovative products to launching their own.
Industry experts, who follow Sun Pharma closely, say Ganorkar has a tough task ahead, but the established strength of the company comes as a big help. To succeed Dilip Shanghvi, known for his calculated yet bold moves, Ganorkar will need to combine all his experience.
He has held diverse roles at Sun Pharma from business development, marketing, M&A, new product introductions, project management, to intellectual property litigation.
An avid cricket follower, Ganorkar is the perfect all-rounder that Shanghvi has chosen. In the new innings, he must demonstrate the skills of MS Dhoni as a cool captain while showing the aggression of Virat Kohli. "Can he be good in the test match format and T20. That is the key," says a senior industry veteran, who was pleasantly surprised to see Ganorkar's new position.
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