Mumbai-born woman on Fortune’s ‘100 most powerful’ list alongside Mukesh Ambani, Sundar Pichai

On Fortune’s list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Business, a Mumbai-born woman rubs shoulders with the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Mukesh Ambani. Reshma Kewalramani may not be as well known as her fellow Indian-origin executives like Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella, but she has quietly made history as the first woman CEO to lead a major US biotechnology company.

Reshma Kewalramani is the CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Who is Reshma Kewalramani?

Reshma Kewalramani is the Indian-origin CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals – a company valued at $110 billion. She is the first female CEO of a large US biotech company, having been appointed to the post in April 2020.

Kewalramani was born in Mumbai and moved to the US with her family when she was 11.

She started her career as a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital. After a few years of working as a doctor, she entered the biopharma sector, holding several leadership positions in research and development over a career spanning several years.

She joined Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2017 and was appointed Chief Medical Officer a year later. In 2020, she became the CEO of the company and also sits on its board.

Fortune 100 Most Powerful People in Business

Fortune has released a list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Business for the second time ever.

“This list measures power and influence—and though net worth is a factor, we’re much more concerned with a leader’s ability to shape the thoughts and actions of those around them,” explains Fortune. “Billionaires no longer active in business, business unit leaders, politicians and regulators, as well as loud voices who don’t run substantive businesses do not qualify.”

Instead, the list focuses on people who are actively involved in businesses that affect the present and will shape the future.

Ranking first on the list is Jensen Huang, the CEO, president and co-founder of Nvidia; followed by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, whose early bet on OpenAI has helped Microsoft gain an edge in the AI race.

Other Indian and Indian-origin leaders on the list are Google CEO Sundar Pichai (rank 6), Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani (rank 56), and YouTube CEO Neal Moahn (rank 83). Gautam Adani has also been included in the list at rank 96.

Reshma Kewalramani on Fortune 100

Kewalramani ranks 62nd on Fortune’s list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Business. This is the first time she has featured on the list.

In a short paragraph explaining her inclusion, Fortune noted that this year, Vertex gained FDA approval for a new opioid-free pain drug, Journavx.

“Reshma Kewalramani, who brings her experience as a licensed doctor to her leadership, took the helm as CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2020, having previously served as the biopharma company’s chief medical officer,” the magazine noted.