Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), the global private equity giant with $61.9 billion under management, has appointed former Ranbaxy Laboratories CEO DS Brar as a senior advisor. In this role, Brar will serve on KKR’s Asia portfolio management committee, which interacts with company management, monitors KKR’s private equity investments in the region and provides guidance & input on the operations of portfolio companies.
KKR’s senior advisors include current and former senior executives, who complement the work of KKR’s investment professionals, and the operational executives at KKR Capstone. The firm has 24 senior advisors in its fold, including key people like Sir John Bond (former group chairman of HSBC Holdings) and Arun Sarin (former CEO of the Vodafone Group).
“DS Brar is one of the most respected business managers in India. He has a breadth of business, economic and government experience, and we are very pleased that he will bring his expertise to bear on our current and prospective investments as a Senior Advisor to the firm,” said Sanjay Nayar, a Member of KKR and head of the firm’s India operations.
Brar served as a director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from 2000-2007 and was also a member of the Inspection and Audit Sub-Committee, Central Board of Directors (RBI). He had spent the major part of his career with Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, India’s largest pharmaceutical company (which was acquired by Japan’s Daichi Sankyo in 2008), and was named its CEO & managing director in 1999.
In 2004, Brar co-promoted a contract research firm, along with Hyderabad-based GVK group. GVK Biosciences provides discovery & development services to global life sciences companies and is backed by Sequoia Capital India.
Brar currently serves on the board of Hewlett Packard subsidiary MphasiS, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Moksha8. He is also Special Advisor to the board of directors of Adamas Pharmaceuticals Inc., and a consultant to Teva Pharmaceuticals. Brar is also a member of the board of governors of IIM-Lucknow.
Brar has served on various committees and councils of industry bodies such as Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He was also a member of Prime Minister’s Task Force on pharmaceuticals and knowledge-based industries, which drafted the blueprint for the growth and global expansion of the Indian pharmaceutical industry.
Brar holds a BE (Electrical) degree from Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala. He then went on to complete his Master’s degree in Business Administration (Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi).
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