Vaccine Couple: Bharat Biotech's Krishna and Suchitra Ella conferred Padma Bhushan

Hyderabad: Bharat Biotech Managing Director couples Krishna and Suchitra Ella have been conferred with Padma Bhushan 2022 among others.

Dr. Krishna Ella is the Chairman & Managing Director of Bharat Biotech International Limited, which he incorporated in 1996. A gold medalist at university, Dr. Ella worked as a research faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston after earning his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A research scientist in Molecular Biology, Dr. Ella strongly believes that innovative technology in vaccine development is essential to solve public healthcare problems caused by infectious diseases.

Under Dr. Ella's leadership, Bharat Biotech has grown to become a global leader in the innovative vaccine. A serial entrepreneur with a passion for innovative ideas, Dr. Ella has also ventured into veterinary vaccines, food processing, and developing biotechnology infrastructure in the country. Dr. Ella is also involved in shaping India's science education and policy through his association with several committees such as:

Scientific Advisory Committee to the Union Cabinet

CSIR Governing Council.

CCMB Governing Council.

Research Council for CSIR National Laboratories.

Board of Visitors – Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Several awards have been conferred on Dr. Ella including the ET Now Special Recognition for Healthcare Industry Award, J R D Tata—Best Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Marico Innovation Award, and University of Southern California—Asia-Pacific Leadership Award.

Mrs. Suchitra Ella is the Joint Managing Director of Bharat Biotech, which she co-founded with Dr. Ella in 1996. With experience in customer operations, finance, marketing, and business development, Mrs. Ella is a strong pillar of support and guidance at Bharat, overseeing a wide range of operations in the company.

Mrs. Suchitra Ella is also the Chairperson of the CII Indian Women Network. She serves on the Boards of ISB Well Wisher's Trust and United Way Hyderabad—an International Charity Partner focused on social empowerment in local communities with a focus on livelihoods, health, and education. She was a former Board member of TTD. Mrs. Suchitra strongly believes in corporate citizenship and social responsibility. She spearheads the CSR initiatives of the company.

Mrs. Ella holds a BA in Economics and Social Sciences from the University of Madras. She followed this up with a diploma in business development from UWCU—Madison, a diploma in real estate management from the University of South Carolina, and a post-graduate diploma in patent law from NALSAR—Hyderabad. Several awards have been conferred on her including the South Indian Business Achievers Award 2016, Zee TV Best Women Entrepreneur Award, SAARC Women Entrepreneur Award, etc.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao hailed all those prominent personalities from Telangana who won the prestigious Padma awards this year for their lifetime achievements. The CM congratulated Padma Bhushan (jointly)awardees under the Trade and Industry category, Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella, Padma Shri awardees Darshanam Moghilaiah, Ramachandraiah, and Padmaja Reddy for getting award under the Art category. He further conveyed his best wishes to the awardees.