API industry facing 40% shortage of leadership talent, has no women in top positions: Report

There is a severe lack of diversity in the leadership roles as all companies studied have 100 percent male leadership in manufacturing roles.

There is a high talent churn of 40 percent among leadership roles in India's Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) industry and this trend is expected to grow in the coming years given the demand-supply gap, according to a report by executive search firm WalkWater Talent Advisors.

As manufacturing networks become more complex, leading companies have specifically beefed up the hiring of Chief Operating Officer (COO) candidates to provide leadership and strategic direction to manage the growth of the manufacturing operations.

There is a severe lack of diversity in the leadership roles as all companies studied have 100 percent male leadership in manufacturing roles.

Further, data showed that 95 percent of leadership talent in manufacturing roles are chemical engineers or chemistry graduates, with 41 percent holding full-time master's/doctorate.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Maharashtra, and Gujarat are the three emerging talent clusters, constituting over 82 percent of leadership talent. One can expect these clusters to attract a significant portion of future investments in the sector.

According to the Government of India, the Indian pharmaceutical industry has been on an upward trajectory over the past few decades, contributing around 1.72 percent of the GDP of the nation.

The industry is anticipated to reach $130 billion by 2030. This growth is driven by the increasing demand for affordable and high-quality medicines, both domestically and internationally. Currently, India is the 3rd largest producer by volume and 14th largest by value worldwide. Indian pharma exports witnessed a growth of 103 percent since 2013-14, from Rs 90, 415 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 1,83,422 crore in 2021-22. About 20 percent of the global exports in generic drugs are met by India.

“The report offers crucial insights into the trends and talent dynamics driving leadership hiring in the manufacturing function of India’s API industry. In the midst of India's growing role in API Manufacturing in the global pharmaceutical scene, this study acts as a compass for industry stakeholders navigating the dynamic and ever-changing talent landscape,” said Rahul Shah, Co-Founder & Director at WalkWater Talent Advisors.