Adar Poonawala

Adar Poonawalla, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Serum Institute of India (SII), leads the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by doses produced and sold annually, with a staggering output of 1.5 billion doses per year. Founded in 1966 by his father, Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, SII has grown under Adar's leadership to a point where, by the end of 2021, it was producing more than 3 billion doses of vaccines annually, including 1.5 billion COVID-19 vaccines.

Adar joined SII in 2001 after graduating from the University of Westminster in London. Initially, he focused on expanding the company's international market and ensuring new products were licensed and pre-qualified by the World Health Organization for supply to United Nations agencies such as UNICEF and PAHO. At that time, SII was exporting its products to 30 countries. By 2015, Adar had expanded the company's reach to over 140 countries, with 85% of its revenues coming from overseas markets.

Taking over as CEO in 2011, Adar has been instrumental in reducing vaccine prices to make them affordable for developing communities while driving innovation in new vaccines against preventable diseases. His mission to combat health inequality and make vaccines more accessible has significantly expanded SII's global reach, now supplying life-saving vaccines to over 170 countries. Under his tenure, SII has produced and distributed over 280 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to 70 countries (as of June 2021), with production increasing monthly.

Adar has also played a pivotal role in SII's strategic expansions, including the acquisition of Bilthoven Biologicals, a Netherlands-based government vaccine manufacturing company, in 2012. He spearheaded the launch of SII's oral polio vaccine in 2014, which became a bestseller, and has plans to introduce vaccines for dengue, flu, and cervical cancer.

In addition to his role at SII, Adar is a dynamic leader in philanthropy and social responsibility. He and his wife Natasha founded the Villoo Poonawalla Charitable Foundation in 2012, focusing on education, healthcare, safe water, and environmental sanitation. 

The foundation operates eight schools educating over 10,000 children and a charitable hospital in Pune, where SII is based. It also addresses city waste management and provides clean drinking water at 30 locations.

Adar founded Poonawalla Fincorp, a digital non-banking financial company, in 2019, and was appointed chairman on 31 May 2021 after acquiring a 66% stake in the company. He has also been a former board member of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, contributing to global child vaccination efforts against infectious diseases.