Drugmaker Cipla is seeing a fresh round of changes at the helm, with MK Hamied resigning as Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director of the company, and his son Kamil Hamied making a re-entry.
MK Hamied, brother of Cipla doyen Dr YK Hamied, said in his letter, “It is with a heavy heart that I write to formally announce my resignation …….due to age and health.” The announcement comes into effect from October 29, 2024. The company announced the appointment of Kamil as Non-Executive Director, from November 1 2024.
The development comes close on the heels of MK Hamied’s daughter Samina Hamied stepping down as Cipla’s executive vice-chairperson from March 31, 2024, citing “personal and family commitments”. Kamil is Samina’s brother and had exited Cipla in 2015.
The developments involving Cipla’s promoter family come even as reports suggested, as recently as last year, that members of the promoter family were looking to sell their stake. Cipla’s Dr Hamied had, however, told shareholders last year that the reports were speculative.
In an interaction with businessline about two months ago, Cipla Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Umang Vohra, had said that the company has “completely professionalised” over the last 10 years. “The reality of Cipla as it is today is that the two people who fundamentally groomed the business are today 88 and 84 (years). They have no intention to sell the business,” Vohra had told the paper.
Continuity at Cipla
On Kamils return to Cipla, the company said, “In his previous stint at Cipla, Kamil was the Chief Strategy Officer and a member of the management team. He was involved in leading company transformation, M&A strategy, implementing a leadership structure and more.”
On the development, MK Hamied said in his letter, “I am pleased to see that Kamil Hamied will be joining the Board …..to maintain continuity while representing the promoter family.”
Looking back at 47 years at Cipla, MK Hamied called his brother Dr YK Hamied “the guiding light of Cipla”. “He has greatly contributed towards making my journey at Cipla, one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” the letter said.