Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson of Biocon Group, has been recognized with the prestigious Jamsetji Tata Award at the Indian Society for Quality (ISQ) Annual Conference 2024 in Bengaluru. This accolade highlights her transformative contributions to India’s biosciences sector.

As a global biopharmaceutical leader, Biocon has made significant strides under Mazumdar-Shaw’s leadership, advancing treatments for diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune diseases to improve accessibility and affordability. Over the years, she has received several distinguished honors, including India’s Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, the Order of Australia, and the French Legion of Honour.

Mazumdar-Shaw’s influence extends beyond Biocon. She has served as vice chair of the US-India Business Council’s Global Board and was appointed to its board in 2018. Recently, she joined the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Corporation.

In her acceptance speech, Mazumdar-Shaw expressed heartfelt gratitude for the award, emphasizing its connection to Jamsetji Tata’s enduring legacy of excellence and social progress. She stated:

“I am deeply honored and humbled to accept the 2024 Jamsetji Tata Award instituted by ISQ. This award holds a very special meaning to me as it is named after one of India’s greatest visionaries —a man whose legacy of excellence, innovation, and nation-building continues to inspire us all.”

She further remarked that Tata’s commitment to quality and belief in the power of industry to drive societal change closely align with her own professional journey.

Mazumdar-Shaw’s academic foundation includes a postgraduate diploma in malting and brewing from Ballarat College at Melbourne University, earned in 1975.

The first Indian to feature on Forbes’ "World’s Self-Made Women Billionaires" list, Mazumdar-Shaw has also appeared in numerous other influential rankings. These include Fierce Biotech's "World's 25 Most Influential People in Biopharma," Forbes' "World’s 100 Most Powerful Women," and Fortune's "Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Asia-Pacific."

Her contributions have also been acknowledged by Scientific American’s "Worldview 100 List" and Foreign Policy's "100 Leading Global Thinkers." She has been a consistent presence on the Medicine Maker Power List Top 10 since 2015, securing the No. 1 position in the "Business Captains" category in 2018.

The Jamsetji Tata Award celebrates leaders who demonstrate exceptional dedication to quality and innovation, driving positive societal change. Named after the visionary industrialist, this award embodies the ideals of excellence and nation-building that Tata championed.