Cipla's leadership change: Achin Gupta to succeed Umang Vohra

Cipla, India’s third largest drugmaker by sales, will see a change of guard from April 1, 2026 with its MD and global CEO Umang Vohra stepping down. The company announced that the chief operating officer, Achin Gupta will succeed Vohra ``as part of the company’s structured succession planning’’.

Analysts told TOI they will be tracking whether the leadership transition brings any strategic shifts or disruption . Under Vohra, Cipla moved up to become the third-largest drugmaker, restructured two key markets- India and US, and became hugely profitable. In FY25, Cipla posted a consolidated revenue of Rs 27,548 crore and a net profit of over Rs 5200 crore. His elevation from COO a decade ago brought the much-needed stability to the company, which was then grappling with frequent leadership changes and an internal churn.

Vohra joined the company in 2015 as its global CFO and strategy officer. For years, a clear succession plan had largely eluded the company after its promoters, YK and MK Hamied, chairman and vice chairman respectively, passed on the baton to the next generation in 2013. YK Hamied’s nephew Kaamil and niece Samina -- children of MK -- were both groomed for the role and joined the company’s board, but both did not stay at the helm for long.

``Cipla has reached a stage where it's ready for the future. It’s a solid organization that can continue to grow sustainably, ..and with very good talent pipeline that can help take the company forward’’, Vohra said Thursday, after the company reported its highest-ever quarterly revenue of Rs 7,589 crore, with a robust EBITDA margin of 25% for Q2FY2026. Stating that Cipla didn’t make much headway in its innovation play ( under him) , and that capital was ‘deployed cautiously’, he said the company’s future is to be an innovative player, because it will help it stay sustainable, for the next several decades”. Further, elaborating on his achievements, he said “over the last five to 10 years, we laid the blueprint, firstly, for a global respiratory business -we sell the largest number of inhalers across the world now, so we've established that footprint just beyond India. We've established a US business and created a manufacturing infrastructure, and a quality culture ..across 44 facilities that we run””.

Vohra said that Cipla is run by professionals with guidance from promoters.

“Change sometimes is for the good, in order to take the company to the next level’’, and stability will continue. Every 11 or 12 years, management teams change’’. `` I was brought in at a time in Cipla’s journey where we had to create Cipla for the sustainable future. That included repositioning our India business, establishing a business in the US, and doing that with passion at the center of the heart and always, running with the theme of Caring for life’’, he added. Meanwhile, Gupta has been serving as COO since February 2025, overseeing Commercial markets, API, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain. He joined Cipla in 2021 as the CEO of the India business.