The Success Story of Shark Tank India Judge Namita Thapar

Namita Thapar is a popular name in India. She came into the public eye when she appeared as one of the judges, better known as 'sharks', of Shark Tank India. The position is reserved for successful businessmen and women willing to help entrepreneurs in India grow by investing.

Getting to such a place in life is not easy. Here is Namita Thapar's inspirational story.

Namita Thapar was born on March 21, 1977, in Pune to Satish Mehta and Bhavana Mehta. Her father is the founder of the business Emcure Pharmaceuticals. He was the first person in the family to start a business.

Namita was lucky to have family who supported her completely. She did her best to be worthy of their support. From an early age, Namita was very focused on her education. She was also quite good at it. At only 21 years old, she cleared the C.A. exam on the first attempt, making her parents very proud.

Namita always wanted to be a businesswoman. This is why she dedicated herself to learning about business early on. After graduating from the ICAI, she went to Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in the U.S.A. to get an M.B.A. In her own words, she said," The average age of the class was 28, and I was much younger. They still took me."

Soon after her M.B.A., Namita was offered the position of Business Finance lead in the financial department of Guidant Corporation, a medical device company in the U.S.A. She spent 6 years at the company in various finance and marketing positions and then resigned.

During her time in the U.S.A., she got married to Vikas Thapar. Together, the couple has two lovely children named Vir Thapar and Jai Thapar. Now a mother, she was still helping her father with his company from the U.S. When Satish Mehta raised money for Emcure Pharmaceuticals from private equity giant Blackstone, Namita decided it was time to return to India.

In 2007, Namita officially joined Emcure Pharmaceuticals as a C.F.O. She began managing multifunctional portfolios like finance, domestic marketing, and H.R. She was soon appointed as the Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals. Today she manages the operations of over 3,000 medical representatives, contributing to over 1,000 cr. sales, pan-India. The then INR 500-crore company has grown to surpass INR 6,000 crore, with the primary business being generics.

Namita is also the founder of Incredible Ventures Ltd (2017). The company teaches entrepreneurship to 11-to 18-year-olds. She also has a YouTube channel which raises awareness on Women's Health called 'Unconditional Yourself with Namita'. She is involved with many government health and positive change initiatives.

Namita has been recognised with awards many times. Here are some awards she has won:

1. The Economic Times '40 under Forty Award'

2. Barclays Hurun Next Gen Leader recognition

3. Economic Times 2017 Women Ahead List

4. World Women Leadership Congress Super Achiever award

   For women with ambition, even the sky isn't the limit. So work hard and achieve your dreams! Join Glow & Lovely Career's (formerly known as Fair and Lovely Career Foundation)Sheroes Community of Inspirational Women to know more such stories.