BS People: Omesh Sethi

Chain reaction

The resignation last month of Omesh Sethi from the post of president & CFO of Ranbaxy Laboratories marks the end of a series of top management changes at the company, triggered by Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo becoming its majority stakeholder two years ago. Ranbaxy promoter-chairman Malvinder Mohan Singh was the first to leave the company after Daiichi took over, to be followed by managing director & CEO Atul Sobti few months later.

Sethi, a chartered accountant, left Indo Asian Fusegear to join Ranbaxy in 1989 as an assistant manager when the company was beginning to establish itself as a global player. He had been associated with most of its expansion plans, both within the country as well as overseas. The establishment of Ranbaxy’s research & development division and the company’s growth from a single manufacturing facility to dozens of locations worldwide all took place under Sethi’s watchful eyes.

Sethi headed Ranbaxy’s international division in 1993-98 and moved to the US in 1999 as CFO for North America. By the time he returned in 2006, the company’s US revenues had grown from $30 million to $400 million. Two years later, Sethi was appointed CFO & President, the posts he relinquished on January 25.

While Ranbaxy did not cite a reason for its CFO’s exit, Sethi said the decision has been in the offing for a long time now. “Having spent over 20 years with Ranbaxy, I wanted to move on,” he says. According to him, his relationship with Daiichi has been most cordial and the Japanese promoters were very professional in their approach.

So, what’s next? “I need to take a break before the next move. Perhaps, until April,” says Sethi, who rules out another tenure in the pharmaceutical industry.