Adar Poonawalla is an Indian billionaire CEO and owner of the world’s largest vaccine producing company (in terms of the number of doses produced and sold worldwide), Serum Institute of India, which was founded by his father Cyrus Poonawalla in 1966. The company had also produced India’s first COVID-19 vaccine, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine (known as Covishield in India), in collaboration with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Adar Poonawala was born on Wednesday, 14 January 1981 (age 40 years; as in 2021) in Pune, Maharashtra. He received his primary education from The Bishop’s School, Pune and then moved to London, when he was 10, to complete the latter part of his formal education. He completed his schooling from St. Edmund’s School, Canterbury, followed by a BA (Hons) in Business Management from the University of Westminster in 2002. Recalling his time at Westminster, Poonawalla said,
My memories at Westminster are of the great learning environment and culture that taught me how to build teams and interact with peers, overall it was a great learning experience for which I am forever happy and grateful.
After completing his graduation, Adar Poonawala joined his family business of vaccines, and then took the reins of Serum Institute of India as CEO in 2011.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 5″
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Adar Poonawala with his wife Natasha Poonawala
Family and ethnicity
Adar was born in an affluent Parsi family.
parents and siblings
Adar Poonawala is the only son of Cyrus Poonawala, Chairman and Managing Director of Serum Institute of India (SII), awarded with Padma Shri. Adar’s mother Villu Poonawalla died in 2010 at the age of 67.
Adar Poonawalla’s parents, Cyrus Poonawalla and Villu Poonawalla
wife and children
Adar Poonawala is married to fashionista and executive director of the Serum Institute of India, Natasha Poonawala. The couple were married on Friday, 15 December 2006.
(Left to Right) Cyrus Poonawalla, Vinoo Poonawalla, Adar Poonawalla and Natasha Poonawalla at Adar and Natasha’s wedding ceremony.
They have two sons, Cyrus (born in 2009) and Darius (born in 2015).
Adar Poonawala celebrating Christmas 2019 with his wife and kids at Adar Abad House in Pune
livelihood
After studying in the UK for 10 years, Adar returned to India in 2002 and joined his father’s company, Serum Institute of India. After learning the nuances of the vaccine business, he took a seat on the board of directors of the Serum Institute of India in 2005. At that time, the company was exporting vaccines to 35 countries outside India.
At that time we were very India-centric and our company was not really exporting to more than 30-40 countries. I thought there was an opportunity for growth and I wanted to diversify my portfolio geographically and add vaccines and products, which I do every two-three years.
In 2011 he took over as CEO of Serum Institute of India. In 2017, Serum Institute of India became the world’s largest vaccine producing company in terms of number of doses produced annually. The company produces more than 1.5 billion doses of a variety of vaccines annually, including measles, polio, flu and COVID-19 vaccines. Ever since Adar took over the reins of Serum Institute as CEO in 2011, the company has grown at a tremendous pace, expanding its supply from around 35 countries in 2005 to over 145 countries in 2020. According to Adar Poonawala, 65 percent of most children in the world receive at least one vaccine manufactured by his company.
Adar Poonawala at Serum Institute of India
On 31 May 2021, Mumbai-based non-banking finance company Magma Fincorp Limited appointed Adar Poonawala as the Chairman of the company.
philanthropy
Adar began charity work after the death of his mother (who was deeply involved in philanthropy) in 2010.
Villu Poonawala Foundation
In 2012, Adar Poonawalla started the “Villu Poonawalla Foundation” in the memory of his late mother Villu Poonawalla. The foundation is working with the aim of improving the lives of underprivileged people in India, with its main focus being to provide education, health care, water and sanitation facilities at minimum cost. It runs eight schools providing education to more than 10,000 children, one hospital and dozens of water treatment plants. Adar’s wife Natasha Poonawalla is the chairperson of the Villu Poonawalla Foundation.
Villu Poonawala School
Villu Poonawalla Memorial Hospital
Adar Poonawala Clean City Initiative
In 2015, Adar Poonawala launched “Adar Poonawala Clean City” (APCC), an environmentally sustainable initiative working towards improving solid waste management and thus making India’s urban cities more livable. Has been. Adar launched the initiative from Pune with a pledge to invest more than Rs. He spent Rs 100 crore from his personal wealth to clean the city. Apparently, this initiative is the first of its kind in India, where a private entity has come forward to invest such a huge amount in improving the waste management of a city.
A snippet about Adar Poonawala Clean City Project
Many influential figures in the country praised Adar’s initiative, including Narendra Modi, who later named him as one of the brand ambassadors of the Government of India’s “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” (Clean India Initiative) in 2017. .
Adar along with his father giving information about Clean City Movement to PM Narendra Modi at Serum Institute of India
Awards and achievements
- In 2016, Mr. Poonawala was included in GQ magazine’s exclusive list of the 50 Most Influential Young Indians.
- In 2016, he was honored with the Philanthropist of the Year Award.
- In 2017, he won the ‘Humanitarian Endeavor’ award at the Hello Hall of Fame Awards.
- In 2017, he was awarded the title of Indian of the Year in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) business category.
- In 2018, Adar Poonawala was awarded the “Business Leader of the Year” award at the Maharashtra Achievers Awards 2018. This award is given to achievers and leaders from various fields who have made Maharashtra proud by achieving something special in their respective fields. ,
Adar Poonawala received the Business Leader of the Year award from the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
- In the same year 2018, he also received “CNBC Asia’s Corporate Social Responsibility” award.
Adar Poonawala received “CNBC Asia’s Award for Corporate Social Responsibility 2018” from the then Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
- In 2020, he was named in Fortune Magazine’s global ’40 under 40′ list.
- In 2020, he was one of six individuals named as Asian of the Year by The Straits Times, one of Singapore’s leading daily newspapers, for his effort in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Controversy
On 4 January 2021, Adar Poonawala, in an interview with NDTV, apparently took a dig at Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, saying that there are only three COVID-19 vaccines in the world, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca (by Serum Institute Made). ), had passed clinical efficacy trials while the rest of the vaccines were “as safe as water”.
In response to Adar Poonawala’s comments, Bharat Biotech Chairman Krishna Ella issued a statement in which he said,
We do 200 percent honest clinical trials and we still get feedback. If I’m wrong let me know. Some companies have made me a brand of ‘water’. I want to deny this. We are scientists”
Later, amid the growing controversy, on 5 January 2020, both the companies came together and issued a joint statement to clear up the prior misunderstanding, saying that both the companies acknowledged the efforts made by each other in fighting COVID-19. Respect great works, and thus, leave behind the misunderstandings and misunderstandings that happened before.
This should clarify any miscommunication. We are all united in the fight against this epidemic. https://t.co/oeII0YOXEH
– Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) 5 January 2021
collection of cars
A lover of speed, Adar Poonawala has a fleet of more than 50 luxury and sports cars, which include Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, Bentley Flying Spur, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe, Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta, Lamborghini Gallardo SE. Chevy Corvette, and Hummer (electric vehicle). He also has a modified Batmobile based on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. He modified the S-Class for his son Cyrus’s sixth birthday. The conversion work was carried out in China and took approximately six months to complete.
Property
The Poonawala family owns properties in many places in India and abroad. Here is a summary of three major multi-crore properties owned by Poonawalas in Pune and Mumbai.
- First of all, the official residence of Adar Poonawala located in Pune is “Adar Abad Poonawala House”. Spread over an area of 22 acres, the property is built with typical European architecture and is a perfect blend of old and contemporary art.
He has a residence in Adar Poonawala, Pune in Adar Abad
Adar Poonawala with his father, wife and children at Adar Abad Poonawala House
- Another property owned by Poonawala in Pune is the 247-acre Poonawala Stud Farmhouse, which is spread over an area of about 247 acres and a two-storey holiday home has been built on a part of the farmhouse.
Entrance gate of Poonawala Stud Farmhouse
- The most recent property acquired by the Poonawalla family is a 2-acre Grade-III oceanfront property called Lincoln House, located on Breach Candy Road in South Mumbai. This property was once owned by the Maharaja of Wankaner and was later acquired by the US Government for Rs. 18 lakhs in 1957 for use as a Consulate building. This property was purchased by Poonawala in an auction in 2015 at an attractive price of Rs. 750 crores; However, possession of the property has not yet been handed over to them.
net worth
Adar Poonawala’s net worth is not known; However, according to a 2020 report by Forbes India, his father Cyrus Poonawalla’s net worth is estimated to be $11.5 billion.
Favourite Things
- Adar loves watching movies, his personal favorite is Gladiator (2000) directed by Ridley Scott. He watches movies in his personal home theaters.
- His favorite vacation spots are located in France and Italy. He has been there more than 50 times.
Facts/General Knowledge
- Adar is fond of horse racing.
Adar Poonawala with one of his horses at the Poonawala Stud Farmhouse
- Fast bowler Adar also owns a Gulfstream G550, a plane that can take him anywhere in the world in less than thirteen hours.
- On May 17, 2021, through an open market transaction, Adar Poonawala sold his entire stake in Panacea Biotech for Rs. Rs 118 crore, and the shares were picked up by Serum Institute of India (SII). According to BSE Block Deal data, Poonawala sold 31,57,034 shares held by him in Panacea Biotech at a price of Rs. 373.85 per share, taking the total deal value to Rs. 118.02 crores.
- In December 2023, Adar Poonawala made headlines when he bought London’s most expensive property, Aberconway House, for around Rs. Made a deal to buy in. 1,444.4 crores. The mansion is said to have been acquired by Serum Life Sciences Limited, the British subsidiary of the Poonawalla family’s Serum Institute of India. This deal was said to be the second most expensive deal in London this year.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn