Who is Reshma Kewalramani? Mumbai-born CEO behind a ₹11 lakh crore biotech empire and TIME’s 2026 Woman of the Year

It isn’t every day that a name stands shoulder to shoulder with global heavyweights like Mukesh Ambani, Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai in conversations about influence and leadership. But the rise of Reshma Kewalramani makes that comparison feel completely natural.Recently named TIME Magazine’s Woman of the Year for 2026, the Mumbai-born doctor-turned-CEO is quietly redefining what leadership in global healthcare looks like. Her journey - from an immigrant childhood to leading one of the world’s biggest biotechnology companies - feels like a real-life version of the classic American Dream.Long before she became the head of a major biotech company, Kewalramani was simply an 11-year-old girl adjusting to life in a new country.In 1988, her family left Mumbai and moved to the United States, eventually settling in Long Island. They didn’t arrive with great wealth, but they carried enormous ambition.Her father ran a small clothing and electronics store in Manhattan, and young Reshma often helped out there. She would stand behind the counter and assist with daily tasks, sometimes even helping count the day’s earnings. Those early experiences, she has often said, taught her the value of discipline and hard work.Growing up in a traditional Indian household, the career choices in front of her felt familiar - medicine, engineering, or a religious path. She chose medicine. After graduating with top honours from Boston University in 1998, she trained as a kidney specialist and pursued research at institutions affiliated with Harvard Medical School.Then came a turning point in 2004.Kewalramani received an offer to join the research and development team at Amgen in California. Accepting the job meant leaving Boston at a time when she and her husband were raising six-month-old twin boys.It was a major risk. But she took it.The decision proved transformative. Over the next 12 years at Amgen, she steadily climbed the ranks and eventually became a vice president.Her biggest chapter began in April 2020, when she took over as CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals.And the results were dramatic.Under her leadership, Vertex’s market value surged from around $69 billion to nearly $120 billion—roughly ₹11 lakh crore—within just five years. Alongside the financial growth, the company has been involved in major scientific developments that are shaping the future of biotech treatments worldwide.Today, Kewalramani’s influence stretches far beyond the boardroom.Along with being named TIME’s Woman of the Year, she has also appeared on Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful Women list and in TIME’s annual list of the world’s most influential people.Her story remains a powerful reminder that sometimes the most extraordinary global success stories begin with something very simple: a young immigrant helping out at a small family shop and dreaming much bigger.