Mehul Jhaveri: A Tech-Visionary Transforming The Pharma Sector With Innovation & Expertise
Mehul Jhaveri
CMD
In this interview, Mehul Jhaveri shared insights into his professional journey, from the early days to his current leadership role.
Could you provide a brief summary of your professional journey?
I embarked on my journey in chemical engineering, graduating in 2002 from SVNIT. During my final year, through a campus interview, I secured a job at Rallies India, where I dedicated myself for 5 years, juggling day and night shifts while simultaneously venturing into the trading business during daylight hours.
Starting from scratch, I relied completely on my job's salary to survive until my family, especially my wife Saloni, supported me while taking the leap into full-time business ownership and moving ahead in this pharmaceutical world, which is highly dominated by existing pharma-ceutical giants.
I established my first venture, Clairchem India, in 2015, manufacturing organic chemicals. I later pivoted to hormones and steroids, leading to the inception of Horster Biotek in 2019.
With market insights and industrial experience, expanding into manufacturing various active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates, I initiated another manufacturing unit, Horster Life Science, in May 2023.
Can you tell us your experience graduating from SVNIT, Surat?
SVNIT has a very good academic environ-ment. I learned the importance of connecting with our senior students, professors, and friends, who always emphasized thought processes, decision-making, and developing
insights.
During my second year of studying chemical engineering, one of our professors at SVNIT, who taught fluid flow operations, announced a reward for the student with the highest score in his subject. Surprisingly, I emerged as the top scorer and received the prize. This experience highlighted to me the power of rewards and recognition in keeping individuals motivated to excel, whether it's in academics, employment, or entrepreneur-ship.
How would you define Horster as an organization?
Horster, (Coined from HOR- mones and STERoids) is dedicated to supply a wide range of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), Bulk drug intermediates, and specialty chemicals to the global market.
Our dream is to become one of the leading API manufacturing entity in India, supported by a notable global footprint, all while delivering uncompromising quality across our product portfolio. I firmly believe that in business, 90 percent efforts are in execution and execution is 100 percent on team. At Horster, we all work as a team being blessed with the best staffs.
Could you tell us about your leadership approach?
In terms of leadership, I firmly believe in the value of hands-on experience and leading by example. I learned the importance of being willing to roll up my sleeves and tackle tasks at any level, without hesitation or embarrassment. This philosophy extends to my own business ventures, where I actively engage with my staff at all levels, whether it's collaborating with factory managers or working alongside operators and helpers on the production floor.
By immersing myself in various roles within the company, I gain invaluable insight into the challenges and nuances of different functions. Whether it's operating machinery or assisting with sales, I make a concerted effort to understand firsthand the day-to-day realities faced by my team members.
This hands-on approach not only fosters empathy and mutual respect but also equips me with a deeper understanding of their needs and concerns.
Business is a set of thousands of decisions taken wisely and timely
During my second year of studying chemical engineering, one of our professors at SVNIT, who taught fluid flow operations, announced a reward for the student with the highest score in his subject. Surprisingly, I emerged as the top scorer and received the prize. This experience highlighted to me the power of rewards and recognition in keeping individuals motivated to excel, whether it's in academics, employment, or entrepreneur-ship.
Horster, (Coined from HORmones and STER- oids) is dedicated to supply a wide range of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), Bulk drug intermediates, and specialty chemicals to the global market
How would you define Horster as an organization?
Horster, (Coined from HOR- mones and STERoids) is dedicated to supply a wide range of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), Bulk drug intermediates, and specialty chemicals to the global market.
Our dream is to become one of the leading API manufacturing entity in India, supported by a notable global footprint, all while delivering uncompromising quality across our product portfolio. I firmly believe that in business, 90 percent efforts are in execution and execution is 100 percent on team. At Horster, we all work as a team being blessed with the best staffs.
Could you tell us about your leadership approach?
In terms of leadership, I firmly believe in the value of hands-on experience and leading by example. I learned the importance of being willing to roll up my sleeves and tackle tasks at any level, without hesitation or embarrassment. This philosophy extends to my own business ventures, where I actively engage with my staff at all levels, whether it's collaborating with factory managers or working alongside operators and helpers on the production floor.
By immersing myself in various roles within the company, I gain invaluable insight into the challenges and nuances of different functions. Whether it's operating machinery or assisting with sales, I make a concerted effort to understand firsthand the day-to-day realities faced by my team members.
This hands-on approach not only fosters empathy and mutual respect but also equips me with a deeper understanding of their needs and concerns.
Business is a set of thousands of decisions taken wisely and timely
under the leadership of the CEO. When you lead with principles, decision-making becomes easy. Daily we have to take several decisions promptly, and for that we have a 'code of conduct' of below 4 factors, which makes decision-making easier:
Family and employees: Decide, keeping in mind that our family and our valuable team of employees will not suffer due to the decision taken.
Religion: Being a strict follower of Jainism, I ensure that no product manufactured has any raw material of animal origin or is processed at the cost of any living organism. Eg: A few years ago, there was a huge demand for UDCA (Ursodeoxycholic Acid), which is manufactured from raw material Cholic Acid obtained from animals only. Many traders encouraged me to start this product, which was in high demand, and earn big bucks in a very short period of time, but it was easy for me to reject it because it was against religious principles.
Government laws and compliances: Take care that laws of land are respected, and so never sell any material to a country where valid patents are in force or where any material is not allowed.
Environment and society: Decide to give importance to sustain- ability and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
What are your future plans and goals for Horster?
My journey began with trading APIs, followed by venturing into the manufacturing of hormones and steroids. Subsequently, we expanded our operations to include a diverse range of APIs, encompassing anticancers, anti-fungals, anti-obesity, anti-diabetics, and various other APIs. Recently, we took a significant step towards backward integration by initiating the in-house manufacturing of several intermediates, a domain previously reliant on imports.
This strategic move has significantly reduced our dependence on external suppliers. Looking ahead, we are working this year on some unique anti-histamine and steroidal molecules, which have fewer manufacturers in the world, and that will help Horster grow exponentially. We dream to go public eventually and wish to share the gains of our company's growth with our acquaintances.
Mehul Jhaveri, CMD, Horster Life-science
Mehul Jhaveri is a proud alumnus of SVNIT, Surat. From his academic beginnings at SVNIT to the establishment of multiple successful ventures, his journey signifies a steadfast commitment to growth, innovation, and entre-preneurship.
Family and employees: Decide, keeping in mind that our family and our valuable team of employees will not suffer due to the decision taken.
Religion: Being a strict follower of Jainism, I ensure that no product manufactured has any raw material of animal origin or is processed at the cost of any living organism. Eg: A few years ago, there was a huge demand for UDCA (Ursodeoxycholic Acid), which is manufactured from raw material Cholic Acid obtained from animals only. Many traders encouraged me to start this product, which was in high demand, and earn big bucks in a very short period of time, but it was easy for me to reject it because it was against religious principles.
Government laws and compliances: Take care that laws of land are respected, and so never sell any material to a country where valid patents are in force or where any material is not allowed.
Environment and society: Decide to give importance to sustain- ability and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
What are your future plans and goals for Horster?
My journey began with trading APIs, followed by venturing into the manufacturing of hormones and steroids. Subsequently, we expanded our operations to include a diverse range of APIs, encompassing anticancers, anti-fungals, anti-obesity, anti-diabetics, and various other APIs. Recently, we took a significant step towards backward integration by initiating the in-house manufacturing of several intermediates, a domain previously reliant on imports.
This strategic move has significantly reduced our dependence on external suppliers. Looking ahead, we are working this year on some unique anti-histamine and steroidal molecules, which have fewer manufacturers in the world, and that will help Horster grow exponentially. We dream to go public eventually and wish to share the gains of our company's growth with our acquaintances.
Mehul Jhaveri, CMD, Horster Life-science
Mehul Jhaveri is a proud alumnus of SVNIT, Surat. From his academic beginnings at SVNIT to the establishment of multiple successful ventures, his journey signifies a steadfast commitment to growth, innovation, and entre-preneurship.