Vineeta Singh, co-founder and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics
Image: Mexy Xavier
Vineeta Singh talks fondly of her father. A scientist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, 72-year-old Tej Singh has dedicated his life to the discovery of protein structures to enable the development of drugs for cancers and other diseases. “He worked 365 days of the year, including Sundays. As a kid, I’d see him go back to his lab after dinner and work through the night. His goal was to discover 600 protein structures during this lifetime,” says the younger Singh, co-founder and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics.
“I never understood his irrational passion,” continues Singh. “I’d argue with him about how crazy it was to dream about 600 when he was discovering 15 a year.” But last January, after more than 30 years of toiling, he hit his target. “I asked him how it felt about accomplishing his goal. Would he take a back seat? Finally retire? No. Instead, he said he still has it in him to do more discoveries and is as excited about it as he was on Day 1.”
(This story appears in the 03 December, 2021 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)