TIME magazine has published its 2025 issue of the TIME100 — an illustrious list honouring the world’s most powerful people. Out of the listed leaders, artists, innovators, and activists, Reshma Kewalramani, who is an Indian-origin CEO of US pharmaceutical giant Vertex Pharmaceuticals, has been named to it on merit. Surprisingly, she is the only individual of Indian origin in this year’s list.
Who Is Reshma Kewalramani?
Reshma Kewalramani was born in Mumbai. She moved to the United States in 1988. Reshma Kewalramani studied for her medical degree at Boston University and went on to do her fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She also took a General Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2015 to further sharpen her leadership skills.
Kewalramani came aboard at Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2017 and rose rapidly through the ranks. Vertex named her Chief Medical Officer in 2018 and promoted her to CEO in 2020, making her the first woman to lead a major publicly traded biotech company in the United States.
Under her leadership, Vertex achieved a milestone by getting FDA approval for the first CRISPR-based therapy, a groundbreaking development for the treatment of sickle cell disease. Kewalramani is also on the board of Ginkgo Bioworks.
Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks, lauded her innovative approach, stating, “Our bodies speak the language of DNA. The most powerful drugs of tomorrow will speak that same language back. Our best drugs in the future will use DNA to talk directly back to our bodies, leading to many more cures.”
Other Powerful Names on TIME100
The 2025 TIME100 list, edited in collaboration with Rolex, covers 32 nations and features leaders in various fields. The list this year features US President Donald Trump (his seventh time), Tesla CEO Elon Musk, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, US Vice President JD Vance, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Bangladeshi caretaker leader Muhammad Yunus, and Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs wrote, “What binds them is not fame or fortune, but influence—impact that lasts beyond a news cycle.”
