Saturday, 30 August 2014

GUEST LECTURE BY DR. A VELUMANI, Chairman, Thyrocare Technologies Ltd.


The students of Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences’ MBA-HHM programme were privileged to attend a guest lecture by Dr. A. Velumani, Chairman of Thyrocare Technologies Ltd.  Dr. Velumani was the guest speaker at the Induction Programme-2014 for five courses offered by Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, including M.Sc. Medical Technology and M.Sc. Nursing, at the Symbiosis Vishwabhavan Auditorium on August 19, 2014.

Dr. Velumani heads the world’s largest thyroid testing laboratory, which has been “accredited, networked and barcoded,” and has the clever tagline “A brand around a gland.”  The mission and vision of the 2,000-crore organization is to “reach to the common man at an affordable cost,” i.e. provide quality, yet inexpensive, economical thyroid testing at an astonishingly reasonable rate of INR.150/- per test.  There should, however, be no compromise in quality, he stated, for if you do not ensure quality, then customers will not return to you.

Originally a mathematics scholar, Dr. Velumani holds a Master’s degree in Thyroid Biochemistry and a doctorate in Thyroid Pathophysiology.  Although he hails from a small village near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, he had a dream of creating, in Mumbai, a 1,000-crore company centered around the “15-gram” thyroid gland, a concept which he nostalgically displayed through a 20-year-old handwritten transparency, emphasizing the humble beginnings of his organization.  When asked why, as a mathematician, he chose to specialize in only thyroid testing, he replied “Specialization rewards; generalization does not.”

A prolific speaker, he gave a step-by-step account via PowerPoint presentation of the purpose, growth and logistics of his company, stunning his enraptured audience with simple philosophies that he uses in daily living, such as “You can either decide [your future] or discuss[it], but not both,” and “A person who is ready to take risks in life really does not lose anything, but a person who is scared to risk anything will end up losing everything,” which drew hearty applause.

Dr. Velumani endeared himself to the students of MBA-HHM when, with his parting words of “Wish you all the best.  God bless you,” he added that he recruits only “freshers” i.e. graduates with no work experience as he can create dedicated and knowledgeable employees out of them through their hard work, consistency and fresh outlook on life.


From modest beginnings to a multi-crore company that benefits the healthcare industry and the community in general, Dr. A. Velumani is a true inspiration for an eager generation of budding healthcare managers.

Linda E. Fernandez

MBA-HHM (Batch 2014-16)

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