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Achiever's point

Katya Naidu profiles the legend called Dilip G Shah, the Secretary General of IPA.

A small town boy making it big is what fairy tales are made of. But this story has no angels, no beneficial twists of fate or a series of fortunate events. It is the story that shows what wonders sheer determination and hard work can achieve.

Early lessons

Born into a family of six siblings with no great legacy likely to come his way, Shah's focus remained totally on education. And the person who influenced this line of thought was his father, who had an inspiring track record of starting off as a weaver in a textile mill and rising to the position of a general manager. It was these strong roots that helped him grow into the character that he is.

His father, who was also an avid reader, inspired his love for literature. His first hitch in education came in the form of English language. Educated in Gujarati medium in Bhavnagar, Shah had trouble coping up with an unfamiliar language. However, not to be bowed down by this, he chose a worthy English tutor—the BBC radio. He started his lessons by regularly listening to BBC English, which used to air a learn-English show. In addition, his love for sports made him a regular reader of a popular English news daily. Not only did this make him pick up good vocabulary, but he was also exposed to international news, which was not available otherwise. "Learning the language and exposure to international news are the two significant events that expanded my horizon," he says.

More learning

Shah went on to do his Honours in English in the legendary Shyamdas College, which was where Mahatma Gandhi had studied. His thirst for knowledge led him to pursue his masters in the same in Mumbai. But his dreams of pursuing a career in journalism came to a standstill when he went to work for a vernacular daily for about three months during the summer break. "I was totally disillusioned with journalism of the1960's, when we finally went to war with China and realised that it was not my cup of tea," he says.

Incidentally, it was the time when the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) was being set up. Even though he knew nothing of what the course in business is all about, he applied just after reading the prospectus. Then IIM-A had only 48 seats for over 4000 applicants. "I was one of them and that changed my whole career," he exclaims.

First job

His first job offer came when he was in his first year of IIM-A and went to do his internship in Pfizer India. When he submitted his report to the Managing Director, he grilled Shah for half-a-day on the conclusions and findings. After which, he pronounced, "Young man when you complete your second year, you need not look for a job elsewhere. Come and join us."

His stint in Pfizer lasted for 30 years. "The foundation was very good with Pfizer. “Because I was a management trainee, I got to work around in production, marketing, and accounting. I got an overall view of the company and the different processes," he says. He was with Pfizer from 1966 to 1975. Then, he quit Pfizer to join Warner Hindustan, which now is a part of Pfizer. Hence, he counts those years as a continuation of his Pfizer experience. When he rejoined Pfizer, the job change pushed him up the hierarchy and he became one of the directors.

One job many roles

But did he not get bored working in the same company? No. Because one can evolve into various roles while they are in the same company. "I was working in the field of systems, internal audit and office administration. But later, my job essentially involved government relations.

Thereafter, every two years, a new function was added to my job," he says. Some of the new responsibilities that he shouldered were—pricing, exports and new business development. "Each of these new functions brought in a fresh experience. The foundation systems and internal audit gives an understanding of how an organisation works," he reminisces.

Moving ahead

His tryst with Pfizer went on till 1997 and that was when he quit Pfizer to set up Vision Consulting Group. Vision is a group that gives strategic consulting in pharmaceutical industry. "I work in entry planning of foreign companies in India, Indian companies entering global markets, alliances, mergers and acquisitions," he says.

But his contribution to the pharma industry does not end there. Dr Parvinder Singh of Ranbaxy had long toyed with the idea of starting an organisation for representing big pharma companies. That marked the starting of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) for which Shah is the Secretary General. IPA focuses on partnering with government to give a solution to product patent regime and global business development. "They agreed on terms that I would devote only a day of my time to IPA work so that I continue doing my business. It eventually became two days a week. But actually I end up doing a lot more," he smiles. There is no retirement for people who are achievers all the way!

And for all those who want to emulate his success story, he has some words of wisdom, "There are no shortcuts to hard work and there is no substitute to experience. You need to have experience to understand the situation and there is no other way."

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