Leadership Team

Arun Kumar is the Company’s Founder and Promoter Director. Arun is a first-generation entrepreneur with an illustrious track record of pursuing “difficult to operate” domains with high scarcity value. Effective April 5, 2025, Arun has transitioned as Non-Executive Chairperson on the Board of Strides.

Arun founded the Company in 1990 and has since led the Company in establishing a global reputation with a differentiated business model and delivering value to its stakeholders, including distribution of the most extensive dividend by a pharmaceutical company in India.

Arun was awarded the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year for the Healthcare industry in 2000. In 2014, he also received the “India’s Best CEO Award (Mid-Sized Companies Category)” and “Best CEO in the Pharma and Healthcare Industry” from Business Today.

Badree Komandur holds a degree in Commerce from the University of Madras and is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and the Institute of Cost Accountants of India.

Badree has over 28 years of rich and comprehensive experience in Corporate Finance & Taxation, Treasury, Forex Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Debt Syndication & Management, Fund Raising, Governance and Investor Relations Management, amongst others.

Badree is associated with Strides since February 2010 and before joining Strides, he had over 15 years of experience working in varied sectors including Information Technology and Engineering.

During his tenure at Strides, he has handled key management portfolios and has played an influential role in implementing Company’s strategies. He has also led the finance function and provided stewardship in Corporate Finance & Taxation, Treasury, Forex Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Debt Syndication & Management, Fund Raising, Governance, and Investor Relations Management, amongst others.

He has also played an instrumental role in driving global compliances, risk management and govern overall financial discipline in the system.

He also oversees the Information Technology and Global Centre of Excellence functions. Recently, Badree also took up additional responsibilities of heading Human Resources & Administration functions globally.

Aditya Arun Kumar holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences from Newcastle University and a Master of Research in Biophysics from Kings College, London.

Aditya started his career with Strides as a Management Trainee and since then held multiple positions in Strides and Family Office prior to his current role.

Aditya has over 10 years of experience in the pharma industry predominantly in Business Development roles. Before heading the B2B business for Strides, he was also responsible for integrating two acquired consumer divisions.

From 2017-2022, Aditya led the business of a promoter-funded pharmaceutical start-up that is the second such technology platform that can develop and manufacture oral lyophilisates.

Aditya has been leading the global partnered business at Strides since June 2022. In this role, he has been instrumental in adding new customers across geographies enabling growth and sustainability. The business under his leadership has grown in size and scale.

Ramaraju is Chief Operating Officer of Strides Pharma, holds a master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and has vast experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.

With over a decade-long tenure at Strides, he has held various leadership roles within the organization. His leadership approach is characterized by strategic foresight, collaborative synergy, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

A dynamic and results-oriented executive, Ramaraju has a proven history of spearheading operational strategies that drive business expansion and efficiency. With over two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, he excels in developing and implementing innovative solutions that streamline operations, enhance productivity, and yield outstanding outcomes. In his role at Strides, Ramaraju assumes responsibility for overseeing the entirety of Global Operations.

Umesh Kale has over 24 years of experience in the Pharma industry and is currently responsible for the quality governance of the entire organization, including subsidiaries.

Umesh specializes in Qualification, Process Validation, Aseptic Processing, QMS and Automation. Prior to joining Strides, he worked with organizations like Nicholas Piramal, FDC, Lupin, Dr. Reddy’s and Ranbaxy.

He has handled various regulatory and customer inspections and has successfully led many international regulatory audits like USFDA, UK-MHRA, WHO, SA-MCC, Brazil-Anvisa, TGA Australia, EU & other regulatory agencies.Umesh has completed M.Pharm (gold medalist) from SGS Institute of Technology and Science, Indore.

Vikesh Kuma holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) from S.P Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai.

Vikesh has over 15 years of rich and comprehensive experience in Business Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Treasury, Forex Management, Fund Raising, Governance and Investor Relations Management, amongst others.

Vikesh is associated with Strides since June 2009.

During his tenure at Strides, he has built and led the business finance function for the group, building it as the nerve centre of the organization, partnering business and functional heads in executing the company’s plans.

He also has played lead roles in Mergers & Acquisitions, Governance, Fund Raising, Treasury, Forex Management and Investor Relations Management, amongst others.

Prior to his appointment as CFO for the Front-End businesses in May 2022, Vikesh was the Head of Business Finance for the group. In his role as the CFO for the Front-End businesses, he relocated to the US in August 2023, to drive the reset strategy in the geography with focus on building profitable, sustainable cash generating operations.

As part of the leadership team in the US, he led the revival of Chestnut Ridge manufacturing operations and enabled the company to set industry leading benchmarks in the Front-End operations.

Surabhi Loshali holds a degree in Polymer Science & Chemical Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering and MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur. Surabhi has worked globally in countries across Americas, Europe and Asia regions.

Surabhi has over 20 years of experience in human resources and specializes in people strategy, organizational transformation, talent management, organization design, employee experience, people analytics, HR technology and mergers & acquisitions.

Surabhi is associated with Strides since September 2020. Before joining Strides, she had over 17 years of experience in enabling businesses across various industries including manufacturing, life sciences, financial services and information technology.

During her tenure at Strides, she has lead efforts in enhancing employee experience through adopting leading HR policies and practices, leveraging HR technology and building effective talent management practices. Her efforts with respect to diversity initiatives have borne fruit and Strides has been awarded as the Best Organization for Women Empowerment for 2024 amongst the manufacturing organizations.