Suven Pharma appoints Vivek Sharma as new Executive Chairman

Hyderabad: Suven Pharmaceuticals Ltd., has announced the appointment of Vivek Sharma as the new Executive Chairman, effective 20th Sep 2024, as Vaidheesh Annaswamy decides to transition from the Board and becomes the Vice-Chair of Suven's Advisory council.

Vivek brings tremendous CDMO and leadership expertise to Suven, acquired across his roles as CEO of Piramal Pharma solutions (2014-19) and as Chairman & CEO of Adare Pharma solutions, a technology CDMO business (2020-22). He was also CEO of Decision Resources Group, a healthcare analytics company (2019-20) and CEO of Saama, an AI clinical analytics company (2022-24).

Vivek was recognized as ‘Global CEO of the Year’ by CPhI Pharma Awards in 2015.

"Based out of Boston, Vivek will build on the foundation created by Vaidheesh, and will help build a stronger customer connect and further drive global expansion of the platform," the release stated.

Vivek earned an Executive MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He is also a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Pankaj Patwari, Non-Exec Director, Suven and Managing Director, Advent International said, “On behalf of the entire Suven board, I am delighted to welcome Vivek to the Suven family. We are confident that the business will immensely benefit from Vivek’s many years of CDMO and leadership experience, which will enable us to unlock many future growth opportunities. We also extend our gratitude to Vaidheesh for his valuable contribution over the past year as the Executive Chair.”

Vivek Sharma said, “This an exciting time for the CDMO industry and especially for Indian players. Within this landscape, Suven, with its track record and especially its technology capabilities, is well placed to capture market tailwinds. I’m very excited to take up this role at Suven, where our work shall contribute to transforming patient lives. I look forward to being an integral part of Suven’s incredible growth journey, where we shall make a meaningful impact through innovation and collaboration.”

Vaidheesh Annaswamy said, “Given the stage of my career, I have decided to move to an advisory role where I shall continue to contribute to Suven’s growth strategy as Vice Chair of the Advisory Council. I am glad to have Vivek as my successor. Vivek brings tremendous industry experience, and will continue the efforts I had initiated, to make Suven one of the leading tech-led diversified CDMOs.”

In his role as the Executive Chairman, Vaidheesh has successfully overseen the management transition at Suven, built a professional team and led the development of the 5-year strategy. He has also set the stage for the proposed merger of Cohance Lifesciences into Suven (ongoing) and has successfully led the acquisition of Sapala Organics.