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Dr. Kris Venkat

1968 - B.Tech - Chemical Engineering Chairman & CEO @ Sundari Enterprises, USA

Dr. Kris Venkat is currently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sundari Enterprises Inc., USA. He is the Chairman of the Board of several companies in USA, Germany and India, and a member of the Board of many others. He is an experienced entrepreneur, manager and teacher.

Dr. Kris Venkat graduated with a B.Tech. degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1968 and followed it up with a Ph.D. from Rutgers University, USA. He has more than one hundred scientific publications and several patents to his credit. He has served on the editorial boards of many technical journals. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose award.

In his illustrious career, Dr. Kris Venkat has held various senior management positions with multinational corporations including Merck & Co. and H.J. Heinz Company, USA, as well as start-up entrepreneurial organizations. As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Phyton, Inc., (USA) and it’s subsidiary Phyton GmbH (Germany), he was instrumental in building up a successful bio-technology company, whose formulations include the leading anti-cancer drug Taxol.

Dr. Kris Venkat is a Visiting Professor of Biochemical Engineering at Rutgers University and has also held visiting faculty positions at Yale University, Dartmouth College, University College, Galway, Ireland, IIT Delhi and Anna University. He has served as an advisor on Biotechnology to the Government of India as well as a number of other Governmental institutions. He also serves as the Senior Investment Advisor to Techno Venture Management, Munich, one of Europe’s largest biotechnology venture capital funds.

In recognition of his managerial excellence and significant contributions to the fields of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to present him this award.

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