Bangalore, India, June 23, 2014
Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon Ltd, Asia’s leading Biopharmaceutical Company, has been awarded the Kiel Institute’s most coveted ‘2014 Global Economy Prize’ for Business during the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Institute held in Kiel, Germany on Sunday, June 22.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy is an international center for research in global economic affairs, economic policy consulting and economic education. This prestigious award, established in 2005 by the Kiel Institute, is bestowed upon individuals who have been pioneers in finding solutions to global economic problems by strongly influencing and implementing economic or trade systems based on individual initiative and responsibility.
This annual prize is awarded to three individuals: A high ranking policy maker, a renowned economist and an outstanding entrepreneur. This year’s winners are:
Politics: H.E. Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia
Economic Sciences: Prof Richard H. Thaler, the University of Chicago
Business: Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson & Managing Director, Biocon, India
Sigmar Gabriel, German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic affairs, delivered a keynote address at the ceremony, which was attended by distinguished personalities from politics, academia, business and civil society.
Ms Mazumdar-Shaw is the first Indian woman and the fourth Indian to be conferred this prize. Previous honorees include Amartya Sen, Nobel laureate in Economics (2007); Baba N. Kalyani, Chairman of the Kalyani Group (2009); and Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of the Bharti Group (2009).
Accepting the award from Prof. Dennis Snower, President, Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Ms Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon, said, “I am honored to receive this prestigious award and consider it a great privilege to be in the company of great economists, world leaders and entrepreneurs. I thank the Kiel Institute for awarding me with ’The Global Economy Prize 2014’. ”
Ms Mazumdar-Shaw pioneered biotechnology in India and started Biocon as a novel enzymes company, which has evolved into India’s largest biopharmaceutical enterprise committed to affordable innovation. Biocon has the largest scientific talent pool in India, and is engaged in path-breaking research to develop novel and differentiated biopharmaceuticals aimed at reducing the cost of treatment for cancer, diabetes and autoimmune disorders for patients worldwide.
With this award, Ms Mazumdar-Shaw joins an elite list that includes Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norway’s former Prime Minister; Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland; Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in Economics; Paul R. Krugman, Nobel laureate in Economics; Pascal Lamy, former Director General of the World Trade Organization; Jean-Claude Trichet, former President of the European Central Bank; and Dietmar Hopp, Founder of SAP.
About the Global Economy Prize:
The Kiel Institute Global Economy Prize is awarded to honor persons who have been pioneers in finding solutions to global economic problems, who have been willing to participate in a dialog with people from other walks of life, and who have championed a society based on individual initiative and responsibility. The prize is awarded to a high-ranking policymaker, a renowned economist and an outstanding entrepreneur. The Global Economy Prize is not endowed with prize money.
About Kiel Institute for the World Economy:
The Kiel Institute is an international centre for research in global economic affairs, economic policy consulting and economic education. The Institute engages especially in creating solutions to urgent problems in global economic affairs. On basis of its research, the Institute advises decision takers in policy, business and society and informs the broader public about important developments in international economic policy. In 2013, it was ranked as one of the top 20 research centres in the world for international trade and one of the top four think tanks in the world for economic policy.
