ChrysCapital-backed Eris Lifesciences appoints former EY partner V Krishnakumar as ED & COO

Private equity fund ChrysCapital-backed mid-cap branded drugmaker Eris Lifesciences has appointed EY India’s former pharma investment banking partner V Krishnakumar as an Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer.

Moneycontrol was the first to report the proposed move, a key exit from the world of Big 4 firms, on September 29, 2020. V Krishnakumar has over 22 years of professional experience across corporate finance, the pharmaceutical industry and management consulting.

This is the second instance of an EY partner moving to India Inc in recent months. On October 1, Charanjit Attra, a partner in the  Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS) practice of the Big 4 firm joined State Bank of India (SBI) as its new chief financial officer (CFO).

KK’S JOURNEY AS A DEALMAKER

V Krishnakumar, or ‘KK’ as he is referred to in deal circles, worked with EY India for more than 9 years. Prior to EY India, he served as an executive director, investment banking at Avendus Capital, where he built the Lifesciences M&A practice.

The move to Eris Lifesciences will not be Krishnakumar’s first brush with India Inc. He was also President (Strategy) at Piramal Pharma Solutions where, as a core member of Piramal’s international business, he was involved in strategic planning, cross-border M&A and post-merger Integration. The IIM Calcutta alumnus also had a five-year stint at McKinsey & Company.

V Krishnakumar.

According to a press release issued by Eris Lifesciences, Amit Bakshi, chairman and managing director of the firm, said, “We are pleased to have V Krishnakumar join our senior leadership team. We are now gearing up for the next phase of growth; getting KK onboard will only help to strengthen our team and get additional momentum to this journey. His role will be pivotal in driving the strategy to intensify the growth”

On his new appointment, V Krishnakumar, Chief Operating Officer, Eris Lifesciences said, “I’m very happy and excited to be a part of Eris Lifesciences. Eris is among the leaders in the chronic drug segment and has witnessed impressive growth in a short span of time. I look forward to working closely with the team on scaling new heights.”

A CLOSER LOOK AT ERIS LIFESCIENCES

ChrysCapital held a 5.51 percent stake in Eris Lifesciences as of March 2020.  The Ahmedabad-based drug maker had a market cap of Rs 7,137 crore at the end of the day’s trade on November 18. It posted revenues of Rs 1,020 crore and a net profit of Rs 291 crore in FY 19-20. The fast-growing firm has a manufacturing facility at Guwahati, Assam and a significant presence in chronic, sub-chronic and acute segments such as cardiovascular, anti–diabetes, vitamins, gastroenterology, gynaecology, IVF and CNS.

Diabetes care, cardiac care and vitamins and minerals are the top three revenue contributors in the Eris Lifesciences portfolio. The firm has a portfolio of 112 mother brands across therapy areas and its 15 marketing divisions cater to over 80,000 specialists and superspecialist doctors.

As part of a recent realignment, the operations of Eris Lifesciences were divided into four strategic business units or clusters- two for the cardio-metabolic franchise, one for CNS and one for the acute franchise.