Dr C B Rao-a man for all seasons

Dr Rao is a man for all seasons. After having worked in diverse sectors such as banking and automotive, he is now busy enhancing shareholder value at Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals

Dr. C Bhaktavatasala Rao"We have finally arrived. Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals is now an end-to-end connected pharma company," declares the soft spoken deputy managing director Dr. C Bhaktavatasala Rao.

He refers to the company's presence in the entire pharma value chain -new drug research, bulk drug, formulations and nutraceuticals- and not to forget the computer connectivity (enterprise resource planning -ERP programme) up to the sentry's post at Orchid Towers, the corporate office.

The 54 year old Dr. Rao has an interesting career background. Prior to joining the drug company in 1998 he had spent 24 years in production, planning, industrial engineering, corporate planning, tying up business collaborations and general management in corporates like Ashok Leyland, Scooters India, Telco (now Tata Motors) and State Bank of India.

One of the top rankers while at school and college, Dr. Rao finished his BE (Mechanical) from the Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupathi and wrote the State Bank of India's probationary officers recruitment exam before joining M.Tech at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M).