Adar Poonawalla is the CEO and owner of Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer. |
Serum Institute of India produced India’s first COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, in collaboration with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. |
Adar Poonawalla was born in Pune, Maharashtra, and studied at The Bishop’s School till he was ten years old. |
He completed his formal education in London and earned a BA (honours) in Business Management from the University of Westminster in 2002. |
In 2002, he returned to India to join his family's business of vaccine production at Serum Institute of India. |
Adar Poonawalla became the CEO of Serum Institute of India in 2011, working under his father's guidance. |
In 2017, Serum Institute of India became the largest vaccine-producing company globally in terms of doses produced. |
Under Adar's leadership, SII expanded its vaccine supply to over 145 countries in 2020 from 35 countries in 2005. |
After his mother's death in 2010, Adar Poonawalla took over charity work and established the 'Villoo Poonawalla Foundation' to aid underprivileged communities in India. |
The foundation focuses on providing affordable education, healthcare, water, and sanitation facilities to those in need. |
In 2015, he initiated the environmentally sustainable project Adar Poonawalla Clean City (APCC). |
Adar Poonawalla sold his stake in Panacea Biotec in 2015 through an open market transaction. |
On 31 May 2021, he was appointed as the chairman of Magma Fincorp Limited, a Mumbai-based non-banking finance company. |
In December 2023, Adar Poonawalla bought Aberconway House in London for around Rs. 1,444.4 crore, making it one of the most expensive deals in London that year. |