For a small idea to become a big reality, one needs lots of perseverance, hard work and patience. Rajiv Malik, CEO, Matrix Laboratories has all these traits deeply ingrained in his personality. So, it is no surprise that from a small entity called the Matrix Laboratories Limited, in a span of just five years, has emerged as a major player in pharmaceuticals.

In fact, many factors had a hand in the rapid growth of the company of which the ability of its leader is a significant one. Malik has proved himself to be a leader of the supreme kind and under his leadership the company is currently training its eyes on international opportunities to evolve as a global force.

A Master in Pharmacy from Punjab University, Malik has about 60 formulation process patents and 10 publications in pharmaceutical journals. He brings with him over 24 years of rich experience in global generic pharmaceutical industry.

Prior to joining Matrix, Malik was associated with Sandoz, the global generics arm of Novartis, as its Head of Global Development and Registration, based in Vienna, Austria. At Sandoz, Malik was responsible for its worldwide product flow, global project management, development strategy for R&D, besides overall planning, strategizing, budgeting and resource allocation and necessary interaction with the customers. Malik was also responsible for overseeing the network of eight development centers of Sandoz worldwide with around 1,000 scientists and an annual budget of $ 250 million.

A man of vision and strong resolution, Malik had a 20 year stint with Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited before joining Sandoz in 2003, during which he has served as the Head of Pharma Research & Global Regulatory Affairs. At Ranbaxy, Malik's responsibilities included development and registration of generics for US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and China. He has a thorough knowledge of global regulatory matters in the pharma industry. He is a member of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society, US.

A driving force behind the growth and the successful implementation of M&A strategy at Matrix, Malik has a proven track record in selection, integration and turning around the merged entities. At the time of his appointment, the biggest challenge for the company was to usher in some changes in the management structure to pursue new strategies for growth. Malik made the company commit to institutionalization thereby facilitating the transition.

The chief reason behind Malik's promotion was the company's desire to focus on the operational issues. It was supposed to be a test of Malik's abilities and now, after he has successfully proven his track record, even his detractors concede that here is a man who knows his trade as back of his hand.