‘Gender issues disappear at a certain level’

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: As Biocon repositions itself from an enzymes maker to a biopharma major, high on its priority list is making simpler and cheaper drugs for the millions infected by cancer and diabetes.

Another issue that is very close to her heart and also a cause of deep worry is India’s crumbling infrastructure, especially of Bangalore, a city where she was born and brought up. “I am very concerned about the infrastructure issues. We must look at private-public models,” she says. She is very vocal about the sorry state of affairs in the city and is already walking her talk. She is proactively involved in projects like the Bangalore Agenda Task Force along with industry leaders like Nandan Nilekani.

It might come as a surprise to many but Kiran Majumdar Shaw is also an author of a book. No, it’s not any management title, but a coffee table book called Ale and Arty - The story of Beer.

Talk about her family and Kiran replies with a twinkle in her eye. “I married very late in life. My husband—John Shaw —and I have been married for the last nine years.” John Shaw, who is Scottish by birth is director, International Business, Biocon and is the vice -chairman of the board. Ah! So, is it all work and no play, even at home? “Many evenings we do bring work home because it is inevitable. But, we try to talk about non-work related issues,” she says. Since, John and Kiran share common interests like art, music and travelling (that’s what brought them together),”We take short breaks to our favourite parts of the world, which include Spain and Italy. Apart from business, I spend a lot of time with my brothers and their families,” she says. However, she admits that nowadays she ends up spending far more time at conferences, which doesn’t leave her with much time to pursue her other interests like golf. “I miss all that.”