Samina Hamied is stepping down from the executive role on the board of drug giant Cipla
In a major boardroom reshuffle, drug giant Cipla said on Thursday its board has accepted the decision of Cipla executive vice-chairman Samina Hamied to step down from her current role and continue as a non-executive director of the company. Hamied would resign from her position on March 31, 2024.
She is the third generation of Cipla’s founding family. Hamied is the daughter of MK Hamied, non-executive vice chairman, and niece of YK Hamied, non-executive chairman of Cipla.
The announcement comes at a time when the market is full of reports of Cipla promoters looking to sell all or part of their equity stake in the company. Cipla promoters currently own 33.5 percent of the company. This move would see all three members of the promoter’s or founding family’s board in a non-executive role.
Cipla’s board now consists of YK Hamied, MK Hamied, Samina Hamied (Executive Vice Chairman), Umang Vohra (Managing Director & Global Chief Executive Officer), S Radhakrishnan (Non-Executive Director) and six independent directors – Ashok Sinha, Adil Zainulbhai , PR Ramesh, Punita Lal and Robert Stewart and Mandar Vaidya.
Meanwhile, the board in its meeting on Thursday also approved the appointment of Dr. Balram Bhargava, former Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), as Additional and Independent Director of the Company for a period of five years from April 1, 2024.
In a filing with the regulator, Cipla said the board has accepted Hamied’s letter dated January 25, in which she expressed her decision to step down as executive vice chairman of the company, while continuing as a non-executive director scheduled to work with can retire.
In her letter, Hamied told the board that she would like to resign “due to personal and family obligations.” She has said she will work with the board to ensure a “smooth transition.”
An alumna of the London School of Economics, Hamied joined Cipla’s leadership team in 2011 as Executive Director and Global Head – Strategy, M&A & Cipla New Ventures. She has worked with leading global firm Goldman Sachs (UK and US).
Cipla commented: “She has been instrumental in driving the company’s transformation agenda; playing a key role in successfully building Cipla’s consumer health business and leading the company’s ambitious forays into the US market with strategic acquisitions.”
The pharmaceutical major further added in its notice to stock exchanges that Samina has built a ‘top-class’ leadership pipeline for the company as it continues to spread wings globally.
In her previous role as Executive Vice Chairman of Cipla, Samina focused on governance and governance issues, in addition to advancing Cipla’s strategic priorities through key global partnerships, corporate culture, hiring the right talent and public advocacy. Samina also chaired the Inclusion & Diversity Council at Cipla.
As for the other new appointment on Cipla’s board, Bhargava is a public health expert with over 35 years of experience in medical research, healthcare innovation, pandemic preparedness management, etc. He has led as Secretary and Director the Indian Ministry of Health Research. General of the Indian Council of Medical Research. He is also a professor of cardiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and is the executive director of the Stanford India Biodesign Centre, School of International Biodesign (SiB).
First print: January 25, 2024 | 6:34 PM IST