2409:4061:2DC7:EA7C:C40C:97FD:BE99:9831 at 10:59, 21 August 2021

2021-08-21T10:59:35Z

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{{Short description|Indian billionaire businessman}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Cyrus S. Poonawalla
| image = Adar poonawalla and Cyrus Poonawalla at the 4th Asian Awards.jpg
| image_size =
| alt = Adar Poonawalla and Cyrus Poonawalla
| caption = Adar Poonawalla and Cyrus Poonawalla (2nd from left)
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth-date and age|1941}}
| birth_place =
| nationality = Indian
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = [[Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce]]
| occupation = Businessman
| years_active = 1966 – present
| known_for = Founder of [[Serum Institute of India]]
| net_worth = [[US$]]13.3 billion (July 2021)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/cyrus-poonawalla/ |title=Forbes profile: Cyrus Poonawalla |website=Forbes |access-date=28 June 2021}}</ref>
| spouse = {{Marriage|Villoo Poonawalla||2010|reason=died}}
| children = [[Adar Poonawalla]]
| awards = [[Padma Shri]] (2005)
| website = {{URL|http://cyruspoonawalla.com/}}
}}

'''Cyrus S. Poonawalla''' (born in 1941) is an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman & managing director of the [[Cyrus Poonawalla Group]], which includes the [[Serum Institute of India]], an Indian [[biotech]] company which is the largest [[vaccine]] manufacturer in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Biography |url=https://cyruspoonawalla.com/content/biography.html|access-date=26 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Index |url=https://cyruspoonawalla.com/index.html|access-date=31 March 2020}}</ref> In 2021, he was ranked number eight on [[Forbes]]' India rich list with a net worth of $12.7 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Karmali|first=Naazneen|title=India’s 10 Richest Billionaires 2021|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/naazneenkarmali/2021/04/06/indias-10-richest-billionaires-2021/|access-date=2021-07-02|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref>

== Career ==
Poonwalla founded the Serum Institute of India in 1966 and built it to the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world by doses. Serum produces over 1.5 billion doses annually of a range of vaccines, including for measles, polio and flu.<ref name=":1" />

==Family==
Cyrus Poonawalla was born in a [[Parsis|Parsi]] family. His father Soli Poonawala was a horse breeder. He was married to Villoo Poonawalla, who died in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Villoo Poonawalla passes away at 67|url=https://punemirror.indiatimes.com/pune/cover-story/villoo-poonawalla-passes-away-at-67/articleshow/32330734.cms|website=Pune Mirror}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Villoo Poonawalla’s death leaves a void in racing|url=http://www.racingpulse.in/code/stpage.aspx?pgid=15735|access-date=2020-07-27|website=www.racingpulse.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-06-09|title=Villoo Cyrus Poonawalla no more|url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/villoo-cyrus-poonawalla-no-more/84696|access-date=2020-07-27|website=mid-day|language=en}}</ref> They have a son, [[Adar Poonawalla|Adar]], who currently works as the CEO of [[Serum Institute of India]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Cyrus Poonawalla|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/cyrus-poonawalla/|access-date=2020-12-10|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref>

==Awards==
* [[Padma Shri]] for his contribution to the field of medicine, by the Government of India in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|title=Padma Awards Directory (1954–2009) |publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]] |url=http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/LST-PDAWD.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510095705/http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/LST-PDAWD.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2013 |df=dmy }}</ref>
* The [[Ernst & Young]] "Entrepreneur of the Year" in the category of Healthcare & Life Sciences in November 2007.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla - Honours and Awards|url=https://www.cyruspoonawalla.com/content/honorsandawards.html|access-date=2020-08-04|website=www.cyruspoonawalla.com}}</ref>
* The [[Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award|Ernst & Young]] Entrepreneur of the Year for India in February 2015.<ref name=":0" />
* Honorary doctorate by [[University of Massachusetts Medical School|The University of Massachusetts Medical School]] in June 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-08-07|title=Padma-Winning Pune Man Becomes 1st Indian to Get 'Doctor of Humane Letters’ Degree!|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/155157/pune-padma-cyrus-poonawalla-doctor-of-humane-letters/|access-date=2020-08-04|website=The Better India|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla conferred honorary degree by The University of Massachusetts Medical School - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmM6yDz7nlU&feature=youtu.be|access-date=2020-08-04|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Honorary degrees awarded at Encaenia 2019 {{!}} University of Oxford|url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-06-26-honorary-degrees-awarded-encaenia-2019|access-date=2020-08-04|website=www.ox.ac.uk|language=en}}</ref>
* Honorary doctorate by the [[University of Oxford]] in June 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Honorary degree recipients for 2019 announced |url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-03-25-honorary-degree-recipients-2019-announced |publisher=The University of Oxford |access-date=26 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Oxford degree for Cyrus Poonawalla - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1eefeIlBpw&feature=youtu.be|access-date=2020-08-04|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref>
*Lokmanya Tilak National Award in August 2021<ref>{{cite news |title=SII chairman Cyrus Poonawalla named recipient of Lokmanya Tilak National Award |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sii-chairman-cyrus-poonawalla-named-recipient-of-lokmanya-tilak-national-award-7431768/ |work=The Indian Express |date=31 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

==Philanthropy==
In May 2019, it was reported that Poonawalla, in partnership with [[Naum Koen]], had proposed supplying Ukraine with 100 thousand doses of the measles vaccine for free vaccination.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://journalist.today/en/patrons-ready-to-support-fight-measles-outbreak-in-ukraine/|title=Patrons ready to support fight measles outbreak in Ukraine {{!}} Journalist.today|last=Вергун|first=Костянтин|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vesti-ukr.com/strana/338008-obespechit-ukraintsev-vaktsinnoj-ot-kori-pomohut-metsenaty|title=Обеспечить украинцев вакцинной от кори помогут меценаты|website=vesti-ukr.com|access-date=2019-05-30}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Medicine}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poonawalla, Cyrus S.}}
[[Category:Businesspeople from Pune]]
[[Category:Indian billionaires]]
[[Category:Indian chief executives]]
[[Category:Indian businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in medicine]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian businesspeople]]
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian businesspeople]]

Cyrus S. Poonawalla - Revision history

2409:4061:2DC7:EA7C:C40C:97FD:BE99:9831 at 10:59, 21 August 2021