Billionaire entrepreneur and founder of Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, on Tuesday clarified that she does not plan to step down as the chairperson yet. Her comments came after it was earlier reported that she had named her niece Claire Mazumdar as her successor.
In an X post, Shaw confirmed that she has named Claire Mazumdar as the future leader of the company, but it will happen at the right time.
“Claire will transition into my role at the right time so not planning to hang up my boots just yet!” the entrepreneur noted.
Earlier, her interview with Fortune India went viral in business circles and social media after she confirmed the succession plan. During the interaction, she spoke about preparing the four-decade-old group and India's largest biotechnology enterprise for its next phase of growth.
“I am the sole owner of Biocon, and I need to make sure that I put it in good hands,” Mazumdar-Shaw told Fortune India in an exclusive interview. “I have seen my niece Claire as my successor, because I think she has proved to me that she can run a company,” she added.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw founded Biocon in 1978 but does not have a direct heir. In an earlier interaction with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath on his podcast, she had said that marrying late in life was one reason she did not have children, despite wanting them. Shaw, now 73, was married to John Shaw, who served as vice chairman of the group. He passed away in 2022.
On her niece's transition into her role, Shaw told Fortune India that she has proved that “she can run a company.”
Claire Mazumdar, aged 37, is a biotechnology specialist who currently serves as founder and CEO of Bicara Therapeutics, a NASDAQ-listed company incubated by Biocon. She holds a degree in Biological Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a PhD in Cancer Biology from Stanford School of Medicine, according to the Fortune India report.
Claire's husband, Thomas Roberts, is a renowned oncologist with Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States, Shaw shared during the interview.
Claire previously worked with Third Rock Ventures and Rheos Medicines and became CEO of Bicara Therapeutics in 2018.
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