If I can build a company like Biocon, anyone can. The first step is to dream - however, big or small. If you have a vision, no matter how big or small, a plan, no matter if it is imperfect, but if there is passion and conviction, success is inevitable, Kiran once said, detailing her first step towards Biocon. No wonder, her passion and conviction have proved the very founding stone of India's largest tech industry. And when you talk about Kiran's personal life - she has many firsts to her credit. She is the first woman in the country to step into the field of brewing and industrial enzymes.

A Padmashri award winner, she is also the first woman to be appointed the honorary consul of Ireland. And unarguably, she is the first lady of biotech in India. A successful technocrat of global standing, Kiran is highly respected both in Indian and abroad for her biotech expertise and has been referred to as "India's Biotech Queen" by The Economist and "India's mother of invention" by New York Times. But her beginning was very humble. Collaborating with the same Irish firm, she founded Biocon India, as an enzyme extraction company, with a capital of Rs. 10,000/- in a rented garage in 1978. By 2004, Biocon had emerged as the No. 1 biotech company in Asia, and No. 16 in the world in terms of revenues and market capitalization. A Master Brewer from Melbourne University, Australia, Kiran however, did not go on to become a brewer but instead become an entrepreneur and now Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Limited.

In fact, the Biocon India Group story began in 1978 when Leslie Auchincloss, owner of the small Irish MNC Biocon Biochemicals and Kiran Mazumdar founded Biocon India. Later, a new phase in the development of Biocon India opened when the Anglo Dutch giant - Unilever, acquired Biocon Ireland. Unilever thereby acquired the 30 per cent holding in Biocon India owned by Biocon Ireland. As a result, Biocon India became an associate of the multinational giant. Today, Biocon is a pioneering biotechnology company engaged in the manufacture of bio-molecules for healthcare and specialty industrial enzymes employing more than 1500 qualified personnel including biologists, chemists, computer scientists, medical practitioners, pharmacologists and engineers.

And the woman behind knitting these disparate groups into a successful whole has been no other than Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. Kiran, no doubt, has broken through the 'glass ceiling' effect on several other occasions being a woman entrepreneur in the traditional Indian society. There is much more to this dynamic woman who is a source of inspiration to many young women for more reasons than because she put India on the global bio-tech map. She is a well-known civic activist, especially with respect to municipal administration in Bangalore. She is also an art collector and an enthusiastic trekker. Furthermore, she has authored 'Ale and Arty,' a Coffee table book about brewing beer illustrated by paintings of some of India's renowned artists. In 1998, she married John Shaw, an expatriate manager and Indophile from Scotland at Madura Coats. John Shaw resigned as the MD of Madura Coats the same year and joined Biocon as its Director for International Business and the Vice Chairman of the Board.

Kiran is the recipient of several prestigious awards like: Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award (2006), Padma Bhushan (2005),Honorary Doctorate from Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) (2005),Lifetime Achievement Award from Indian Chamber of Commerce (2005),Honorary Doctorate of Science, from Ballarat University (2004),The Economic Times Business Woman of the Year Award (2004),Whirlpool GR8 Women award for Science and Technology (2004), Australian Alumni High Achiever Award from the IDP Australian Alumni Association (2003),Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Healthcare & Life Sciences Category (2002),Woman of the Year from the International Women's Association, Chennai (1998-1999),Padma Shri (1989),Outstanding Young Person Award by Jaycees (1987),Rotary award for the Best Model Employer (1983),Outstanding Contribution Award (AWAKE) (1983),Gold for Best Woman Entrepreneur, Institute of Marketing Management (1982). It goes without saying, when a company has a woman like Kiran steering the course of its journey, there are many more milestones waiting for her and the Biocon to reach and explore.