Jan 24, 2023
45-year-old Namita Thapar is the executive director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals and one of the sharks on the hit reality show, Shark Tank India. Originally hailing from Pune, she is a Chartered Accountant, who completed her MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Credit: BCCL
Founded by Thapar’s father Satish Mehta in 1981, the Pune-based pharmaceutical company produces HIV antivirals, respiratory and gynecology drugs, among other products. It has over 350 brands, five R&D centers and 14 manufacturing facilities in India.
Credit: iStock
After working with medical device manufacturer Guidant Corporation for six years, Thapar joined Emcure Pharmaceuticals as its chief financial officer in 2007. At the time, it was a ₹500-crore business. Today it has a network of 70 countries and a turnover of about ₹6000-crore.
Credit: BCCL
A mother of two boys, Namita Thapar also runs Incredible Ventures Pvt Ltd, a company mentoring young entrepreneurs aged between 11-18. During the pandemic, she launched Uncondition Yourself with Namita on YouTube – a talk show that breaks taboos and stigmas associated with women’s health.
Credit: BCCL
Thapar debuted as an author in 2022 with the book The Dolphin and the Shark: Stories on Entrepreneurship. It encapsulates her journey of growing Emcure, balancing leadership with motherhood, and her funding framework.
Credit: Amazon
Thapar has talked about being an emotional eater in her book, and admitted to being body shamed on Shark Tank India Season 2 as well. In an interview on Youtube with author Chetan Bhagat, she said, “For forty years of my life I have been an emotional eater. I looked at food and sugar to make myself feel better”.
Credit: Chetan-Bhagat-Youtube-channel
Thapar, who’s known for her catchphrase, “this isn’t my area of expertise, and thus, I’m out” on Shark Tank India, has an estimated net worth of around ₹600 crore, as per reports.
Credit: BCCL
Thapar bagged a spot on Business Today’s list of Most Powerful Women in Business 2021, and received the The Economic Times ‘40 under Forty’ award. She was also named as one of Asia’s Top 20 most powerful businesswomen in 2022 by Forbes.
Credit: N18
On Shark Tank Season 1, Thapar invested ₹10 crore in 25 startups. Some of her investments include underwear startup Bummer, natural ice pops company Skippi Pops and women’s health company Menstrupedia.
Credit: BCCL
Read More Here
