Board of Directors

Dr. Shailesh Ayyangar has been on the Board since 2021. He is having over 35 years of experience in healthcare, has gained deep experience in Pharmaceutical R&D, Biologicals, Pharmaceutical operations, Animal Health, Consumer Healthcare & Strategic M&A. He has been associated in building businesses and launching some of the biggest brands in healthcare industry.

For nearly 18 years, Dr. Ayyangar was the member of International Leadership Team and Country Chair for India & South Asia running all business interests of the Sanofi Group including Pharmaceuticals, Specialty care, Vaccines, Animal Health and Consumer Healthcare. He built the business from its infancy to bringing it to be amongst the most respected and fast growing MNCs in India & South Asia. He was also involved in global & national M&A activities and innovative partnerships (Apollo Sugar Clinics). One of the longest serving Country Chairs in the country and region.

Dr. Ayyangar served 14 years at GSK, during which he was the Head of Tropical Medicine R&D group in the United Kingdom for 5 years and Exec VP, GSK India & MD, Bangladesh.

Currently, Dr. Ayyangar is a Senior Advisor at Goldman Sachs Life Sciences Council, Member of the Board of Governors at IIM, Ranchi, Member of the Governing Council at the Cancer Cure Fund of Indian Cancer Society, Chairman of the Noveltech Feeds Private Limited (Fully Owned sub of Goldman Sachs) and Independent Director at the Shaily Engineering and Plastics Limited, Baroda.

Dr. Ayyangar is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (Gujarat Veterinary College, Anand, India), has a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (MBA) from IIM, Ahmedabad, India and has also completed the Advance Management Program (AMP) from INSEAD, Fontainblue, France.

Dr. Ayyangar is also the recipient of one of the highest civilian awards from President of France: “Officier de l’ordre national du merite”, 2016.

Dr. Sanjay Singh is the Chief Executive Officer and Whole-time Director of our Company. He has been associated with the Company since 2006. He has been on the Board since 2007. Dr. Singh has over 30 years of experience in the area of Vaccines and Biopharmaceuticals.

At Gennova, his scientific expertise has led to several innovations to treat life-threatening diseases and Dr. Singh has been at the fore-front for developing India’s first mRNA vaccine for COVID-19.

Prior to joining Gennova, he worked with the National Institute of Health (NIH), USA where he headed the Antigen Research Section. He has won numerous awards from the US Department of Human and Health Services, some of which include ‘Special Act or Service Award’ in 2005 and ‘Staff Recognition Award, NIAID/NIH’ in 2004.

Dr. Singh completed his graduation and post-graduation in Science (Biochemistry) from the Lucknow University and is a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow.

Mr. Samit Mehta is the Chief Operating Officer and Whole-time Director of our company. He has been on the Board since 2011. He has done his graduation and post-graduation in Commerce from Pune University. He holds an MBA degree from the Ivy League Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He also serves as a Director at Uth Beverage Factory Pvt Ltd.

In the past, he has played a pivotal role in developing the business in the regulated markets of USA, EU & Canada. He has been involved in the launch of several innovative products in high-growth therapeutic areas and entry into new platforms of Pharmaceuticals.

As a dynamic think tank, he also has worked as a Management Consultant in the domain of Strategy at Ernst & Young LLP(India). During his tenure at EY India, he advised several major clients from different sectors including Healthcare, Education and Mining.

Dr. Kavita Singh is Independent Director of our company since January 2023. She brings more than 22 years’ experience in Indian Pharma Industry, Government and not-for-profit organization. She is a senior medical professional with in-depth understanding of healthcare product development. She has successfully established and led a research & development focused not-for-profit society and led key missions of Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.

Dr. Kavita Singh has served 4 years at Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Public Sector Undertaking of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India as a Mission Director, National Biopharma Mission (NBM). Prior to joining BIRAC, for nearly 9 years, she was a Program Director at Multi Vaccines Development Program (erstwhile Malaria Vaccine Development Program), New Delhi.

Currently, she is a Director of Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi). She is also a Member of Research Steering Group for the Wellcome Trust funded pre-clinical evaluation of Dengue subunit tetravalent vaccine at ICGEB, Delhi and Life member of the Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists and Indian Society of Clinical Research.

Dr. Kavita Singh holds an MBBS degree from Government Medical College, Patiala and a M.D. (Microbiology) from Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGI), Chandigarh. She also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Epidemiology from Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).

Mr. Sunil Mehta has been on the Board since the beginning. He is a graduate in Commerce from the Pune University and a postgraduate in Business Administration from the Institute of Management Development and Research, Pune. He also serves on the board of Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited, leading pharmaceutical company in India.

Mr. Vikas Thapar is a Non-Executive Director of our Company since November 2024. He has a proven track record with 23 years of work experience and expertise in providing value-added business and financial support to multiple companies across different industries.

Currently, he is also acting as President – Corporate Development, Strategy & Finance of Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited, leading pharmaceutical company in India. Mr. Thapar has been an integral part of Emcure’s management team for the last 15 years. He has played a crucial role in spearheading Emcure’s growth in Europe and Canada. He has led Emcure’s inorganic growth strategies over the years and has spearheaded acquisitions of various companies, brands and product portfolios.

Prior to joining Emcure, Mr. Thapar worked in the Silicon Valley, USA with Ebay/PayPal as well as Agilent Technologies where he worked in Finance.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Management Science from the University of California, San Diego. He did his MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business of University of Southern California.