Leading By Example To Create a Healthier Future and Future ‘HEALTH LEADERS’

A burning passion to multiply value for the medical fraternity turned Mr. Pramod Kumar Rajput - aka ‘The Rajput of Cadila’ - synonymous with quality, reliability and, indeed, a global brand’s relentless march to democratize the healing touch of healthcare. 
 

Every mission needs a hero to give it life, shape and purpose.  Pharma giant Cadila’s goal – that of building healthier communities globally through innovation and commitment – has found that passionate and visionary hero in Mr. Pramod Kumar Rajput. Today, Mr. Rajput isn’t just the Vertical Head and Sr Vice President at Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. In many ways, he is amongst those who are going the extra mile to engineer a bold new avatar for the organization and its global goals - far greater and far bigger than the brand name connotes.

GENESIS  

The passion behind Mr. Pramod Kumar Rajput’s spectacular growth journey – that saw him climb the corporate ladder briskly from a medical representative to his current exalted role - lies in a heartfelt attachment to the pharmaceutical industry, one that began early in his life. Indeed, had it not been for a fascination for this profession, he might well have chartered a different career course as an engineer. However, the prospect of interacting with learned doctors and professionals, earning their confidence and respect, and discussing strategies that would carry the potential to elevate the industry and make a difference to millions, held a magnetic pull for a young Pramod. Having left Engineering College by now, Pramod decided to follow his heart. They say that aircrafts don’t take-off with the wind, but against the current.  Mustering the will to go against the wishes of his parents and family, Pramod took the leap of faith and joined the healthcare profession. The fateful decision proved to be a winning one – both for him, and the industry that he loves. Along the way, he added premium qualifications such as a Post-Graduation ( MBA- Marketing) and Leadership Development Program from IIM Ahmedabad to his versatile repertoire, equipping his journey with vital navigation tools. 
 

JOURNEY 

This eventful journey, that started at Cadila laboratories in Gorakhpur, saw Pramod Kumar Rajput cross multiple milestones : Area Manager (Agra, 1987), Regional Manager (Lucknow, 1992), Sr. Regional Manager (Bangalore, 1999), Business Development Manager (Mumbai,  2000) and Dy. General Manager (Ahmedabad, 2001). He turned GM in 2005, Vice President in 2007, Executive Vice President in 2011, Sr. Vice President in 2012 and finally, his current persona of Vertical head and Sr. Vice President, in 2017. “The journey continues with a clear motto to achieve targets, build teams and march ahead with new learnings with never die & never stopping attitude”, adds Mr. Rajput.

APPROACH 

His approach to life and vision of success is as simple as it is profound, which he articulates in his own words, “To have a life filled with happiness and gratitude. To be a leader ensuring success of my team members with a passion towards achieving goals and objectives. My vision is to build a result-oriented and happy society while contributing to various forums to build the Future Young Generation & strengthen professionals. Every morning ignites me with several opportunities which can be explored, realized and shared with others to move forward in terms of personal & professional growth.” His family – which includes his wife, and two children who are post graduates and leading fulfilling careers in their chosen streams of interest – remain his enduring rocks of support.
 

IMPACT

Today, Mr. Rajput and his team is fulfilling a gaping ‘Need Gap’ - That of making healthcare and medical products not just of the highest quality globally, but also accessible and affordable by, in his own words, “Every person in the world”. Fuelled with his rich experiences in CHRONIC and ACUTE therapy portfolios, Mr. Pramod Kumar Rajput has been making that happen one big idea at a time, spreading the healing touch of Cadila’s thought leadership across markets, sectors and demographics. His influence has been both wide and deep : Building successful brands,  achieving accelerated growth targets, moulding hi-achieving teams and inspiring the crew to new milestones in product innovation. 

As befits an extraordinary persona, there are no ordinary days at work for Mr. Rajput - only ones laden with magical possibilities, a non-negotiable ethos of hard work and the thrill of giant breakthroughs. He describes the highlights of a ‘regular day at the office’ thus : “High connect with customers, regular follow up to build brands & markets, strengthening teams through zero attrition & ensuring they learn & earn to move forward at all levels. Above all, I believe the work environment must be filled with pleasure not pressure to achieve the common goal.”

TURNING POINT 

The greater the glory, the tougher the journey. So what has been the biggest turning point – or Eureka Moment – of his career? 

Mr. Rajput reveals candidly, “The biggest setback in my life was in 1998. We had launched a product and invited Cardiologists and Physicians to attend. Although I did my homework, I did not have any acquaintances in these speciality fields. On the day of the seminar, to my shock, only 4 doctors turned up. One of the reasons, I felt, was that my presence hadn’t motivated or inspired them sufficiently. I interpreted that as a personal failure, and it turned out to be the Turning Point in my life" 

On that day, I made a promise to myself that there won’t be an encore. I took a pledge that a time will come when professionals and leaders in healthcare will equate the name RAJPUT with CADILA. Today, I can say in all humility that more than 5000 doctors across a diverse range of specialities across the country know me as ‘the RAJPUT of CADILA’, and conversely, ‘CADILA’s RAJPUT’. The names have become synonyms with one another. I am deeply humbled by this recognition and acknowledgement, and can never express enough gratitude to everyone. The forward goal is to honour the powerful foundation and platform that the industry has affectionately endowed upon me, by building new ideas and solutions that can take the entire community and fraternity forward.”

ROADBLOCKS

The greatness of a quest is often measured by the number of hurdles it has had to conquer. Mr. Rajput harbours a balanced view towards adversity. “Competition is a roadblock but it’s also an opportunity to overcome the same with strategic planning that can propel the team towards success with greater momentum, and motivate everyone with fresh impetus to look at new peaks”, he shares.  

LEGACY 

Today, Mr. Rajput’s multidimensional persona means many things to many people - be it his peers, partners or clients. So how would he like to be remembered? How would he define his legacy? Mr. Rajput ponders briefly before responding : “As an achiever who built his divisions, brands and vertical with his own hands, and put them on the path to non-stop performance, growth and triumph. I will consider my work fulfilled if I have built enough future leaders who can take this dream forward. Most importantly, I would like to be remembered as a change agent who gave back to society through a model of knowledge enhancement and capability building that is now being imitated by several industry players.  Of course, it is a work-in-progress, and the road ahead is long. But yes, that is the overarching target.”

LEARNINGS

A journey as kaleidoscopic and vibrant as Mr. Rajput’s is bound to leave precious pearls of wisdom for those aspiring to follow in his footsteps. So what have been his biggest learnings and what would he like to share with the next generation? Mr. Pramod Kumar Rajput responds spontaneously, “My humble advice to aspirants in this industry and space would be to remain consistent, truthful, creative, innovative, adaptive, flexible and focussed at all times. Create a career goal, stick to it through thick and thin, and keep contributing in all aspects and in every way. The best way to stay on top of one’s efficiency & efficacy is to never ever stop learning. COVID 19 has given us a novel opportunity to learn, unlearn and relearn – an attitude which was missing earlier. It has helped us in three ways : Reimagining cost optimization, reinventing talent grooming and rebooting relationships through technology. We are standing on the threshold of a new era where everyone has a chance to become a Changemaker. Just make sure you never give up, and the glory will come.”

MESSAGE FOR VOH READERS

“My heartfelt gratitude to all the readers who are learning this on the platform of Voice of Healthcare - a group of eminent and visionary personalities in their respective fields. I must say that VOH is the only platform which coordinates and co-relates with elite corporates, institutes and other professional minds under one roof to address the latest issues in healthcare along with experienced stakeholders with their new normal vision to have a strong and successful healthcare guidance.”