Post acquisition, Prasad sees a bigger role in Matrix

Matrix Laboratories executive chairman, Nimmagadda Prasad, feels that he will have a much bigger role to play in the pharmaceutical company even after its acquisition by the US generics major Mylan Laboratories Inc.

Prasad will be on the board of Mylan and will be taking the role of head of global strategy of the US firm. He will also be the vice-chairman of Matrix following Mylan's acquisition of 71.5 per cent stake in the company for about Rs 3,428 crore.

In an interaction with Business Standard, Prasad dismissed the speculations that he would now be out of the pharmaceutical sector.

"Professionally, I belong to the pharma industry and still have a lot to do in this sector," he said, adding that his recent investments in a television channel and some other companies have been done only at an entrepreneurship level.

The 45-year-old Prasad, who transformed the loss-making Matrix into the country's sixth largest pharmaceutical company in just six years, feels that Mylan's acquisition creates greater growth opportunities for Matrix and its employees. The transaction is also in tune with his vision of enhancing the stakeholders' wealth and transforming the Hyderabad-based company into a highly respected global corporate entity based out of India.

With regard to the feeling that he would only be playing a secondary role as a non-executive vice-chairman in Matrix, Prasad pointed out that he had divested his executive responsibility much before the current transaction to the chief executive officer of the company.