Cipla Quality Chemicals

In 2021, Ajay Kumar Pal became CEO of Cipla Quality Chemicals, now QCIL. He displayed a calm resolve of someone used to pressure. He wasn’t just walking into a leadership role—he was walking into a storm. QCIL, once considered one of Uganda’s most promising pharmaceutical exporters, was in trouble. Covid-19 had scrambled global supply chains, making it harder—and costlier—to move goods. But QCIL’s biggest blow came not from the virus, but from Zambia. For years, the Zambian government had been a key buyer of QCIL’s life-saving drugs. But by the time Kumar took over, those payments had dried up. QCIL…