Chintu Patel and Chirag Patel, Co-Chairmen of Amneal Pharmaceuticals, were honored as Persons of the Year 2017 for their monumental corporate success and philanthropy by The South Asian Times on Jan 13, 2018 at a gala reception in Syosset, NY.
Joining in presenting the plaques to the duo were Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty, Congressman Steve Israel, and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.
Chintu and Chirag Patel have taken Amneal in 15 years from a family business to fifth largest generics drug company in the USA with $2 billion revenue expected in 2018. They have also set up family foundations called Niswarth and Irada with large humanitarian projects in India.
They were featured on the cover story in The South Times New Year Special issue of January 6-19, 2018. At the event last weekend at the North Shore Synagogue’s grand ballroom, the two Patel brothers were introduced by Kamlesh Mehta, Publisher and Chairman of The South Asian Times.
Assembled at the reception to cheer the honorees as well as celebrate the remarkable success and contributions of the Indian American community were numerous community leaders, entrepreneurs, publishers and officials. Notable was the presence of two Padma Shri honorees Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori and Dr. Sudhir Parikh.
Congressmen Israel and Suffolk County Executive Bellone, while congratulating Chintu and Chirag, who they have known personally, praised the Indian American community’s role in bringing the two great democracies of India and US closer. Amb. Sandeep Chakravorty echoed their thoughts. Steve Israel said “Chintu and Chirag have not forgotten the past while keeping an eye on the future,” reflecting on how they have retained the best of Indian culture and family values while having a long time vision to serve humanity.
Chirag Patel in his acceptance speech talked about the infinite human potential, adding “One side is business success, but the same thing applies to greater purpose in life.” Tremendous growth of Amneal notwithstanding, he said, “We are not stopping, we have multiple projects in bio-technology.”
Chintu Patel said so far they had kept a low profile but a persistent Kamlesh Mehta convinced them to agree to be Persons of the Year 2017 arguing that their story will be inspirational for the community and it also conveys the importance of family values. Chintu said their father, Kanu Patel, is their inspiration who is still active at 75. He also thanked his team at Amneal, which employs more than 5,000 people. Many attendees told Kamlesh Mehta to make Person of the Year an annual event, and felicitate many more Indian American achievers.
