Reshma Kewalramani, Mumbai-born doctor turned biotech chief, has emerged as one of the most influential leaders in global healthcare. As chief executive of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, she has overseen a dramatic rise in company's value, nearly doubling its market capitalisation in just five years.
Kewalramani took over as CEO in April 2020, at that time Vertex was valued at around $69 billion. Today, the company's market capitalisation has climbed to nearly $120 billion (around Rs 11 lakh crore), cementing its position as one of the most powerful biotechnology companies in the world.
She has been named among the world's 100 most powerful women by Fortune and featured on Time magazine's list of the most influential people of 2025. Recently, Time also honoured her as Time Woman of the Year 2026.
From Mumbai to global biotech leadership
Born in Mumbai, Kewalramani moved to the United States with her family in 1988 when she was 11 years old. The family settled in Long Island with limited resources but strong ambitions.
Her father ran a small clothing and electronics shop in Manhattan, where she would sometimes help at the counter and later assist in counting the day's earnings. These early experiences, she has said, helped shape her work ethic and resilience.
Reflecting on her journey, Time described her story as a living example of the "American Dream".
In her family, career choices were limited, as she once joked, to engineering, medicine or priesthood. She chose medicine. Kewalramani graduated with highest honours from Boston University in 1998 and trained as a kidney specialist. She later conducted research at institutions affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
Phone call that changed her career
A turning point came in 2004 when she received an offer from Amgen to join its research and development team in California.
The decision was difficult because her family and six-month-old twin sons were in Boston. However, she and her husband took the risk and relocated. During her 12 years at Amgen, she rose through the ranks to become a vice president.
Since joining Vertex and later becoming CEO, Kewalramani has overseen several scientific breakthroughs that have reshaped treatment options in biotechnology.
Today, Reshma Kewalramani stands among global leaders like Mukesh Ambani, Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai on lists of the world's most influential figures, a remarkable rise for someone who began her journey as an immigrant child from Mumbai with big dreams.