Zydus Lifesciences Chief Pankaj R Patel appointed as new Chairperson of IIM Ahmedabad Board of Governors

Patel succeeds Kumar Mangalam Birla, who completed his four-year term on Tuesday, IIMA said in a release.

Patel will be the fourteenth Chairperson of the IIMA. Prior to being appointed as Chairperson, Patel has been a member of the IIMA Board of Governors for eight years.

''I am excited to be a part of this esteemed institute and look forward to working with the Board of Governors, faculty members, students, staff members, the alumni group, and all other relevant stakeholders,'' Patel said.

Patel combines both research and techno-commercial expertise and has published over 100 research papers in peer-reviewed journals and is a co-inventor in more than 64 patents, it added.

He is a Part-Time Non-Official Director in the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India. Patel is on the Governing Board of IIM Udaipur, Invest India, and India Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. He is also a Member of the CEO Advisory Committee of the International Generics and Biosimilars Association (IGBA).

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Patel is a Past President of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

In recognition of his contributions to the healthcare industry in India, Mr. Pankaj Patel is a recipient of several awards including the Acharya PC Ray Memorial Gold Medal Award and the Eminent Pharmacist Award, the India Innovator Award at the India Business Leaders Awards instituted by CNBC. For his entrepreneurial vision, Mr. Patel was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Life Sciences category.