Singh last month announced his decision to step down as CEO and MD of the company from October 1 this year. The president of Ranbaxy DS Brar will succeed him as CEO and managing director.

After obtaining a master's degree in pharmacy from Washington State University and completion of his PhD from the Michigan University, he joined Ranbaxy in 1967. He was appointed as its joint managing director in 1977 and was elevated to the position of managing director in 1982. He rose to the position of vice-chairman & managing director in 1987 and took over as chairman and managing director in 1993.

Ranbaxy achieved tremendous growth during his tenure as CEO spanning the last 17 years.While its turnover increased from Rs 36 crore to over Rs 1,400 crore, Ranbaxy established its presence in several markets overseas through a network of subsidiaries and global joint ventures. The market capitalisation of the company went up from about Rs 3.5 crore to over Rs 7,300 crore during this period.

Without Parvinder Singh, Indian industry will never be the same again. For, Singh was an exceptional visionary. Very often, Singh led from the front. In 1992-93, for instance, in the midst of a boardroom battle with his father Bhai Mohan Singh, he was articulating the company's vision to be a research-oriented global pharmaceutical company with a turnover of $1 billion by 2003.

Through his monthly missives, "From the CEO's Desk", he communicated directly with each employee by highlighting the objectives of the organisation as well as his concerns, His own metamorphosis from an authoritarian manager in the 1970s and the 1990s to a consensus-driven manager in mid-1990s has not only empowered the topmanagement, but also developed a Tier II as well. That perhaps explains the smooth succession of Brar as the company's MD.

Under Singh, Ranbaxy also distinguished itself in spotting change and assessing its impact quickly. In 1992, when the entire industry was ranged against the Dunkel draft which advocated a severe patents regime. Ranbaxy accepted the new era as a revolution that every company had to be ready for.

Even as globalisation was becoming part of strategic consciousness in India, Ranbaxy was present in 25 countries. Constrained by a price-controlled regime, the company took the plunge way back in 1968. That was its first global step.

Singh realised early enough that to compete with international players, Ranbaxy needed to focus on cost management. For a vertically integrated company like Ranbaxy, scale economics rake in huge cost advantages, particularly in bulk drugs. Since Ranbaxy manufactures 25 pharmaceutical products in-house, its annual capacity of 2,568 tonnes of bulk drugs makes it aglobally competitive player.