Naitik Shah
Founder and Chairperson, VPD Medi India
Naitik Shah, the visionary Founder and Chairman of VPD Medi India, forged a path defined not by inheritance, but by relentless dedication to a higher purpose. Choosing not to enter his family's established business in clothes and jewelry, young Naitik instead elected to struggle on his own, beginning his career with a modest job at a local pharma shop. It was here, on the front lines of pharmaceutical retail that he realized the profound accessibility gap plaguing distribution services, a pivotal insight that would ultimately define his mission.
Driven by this realization, Shah embarked on his entrepreneurial journey. While an initial partnership venture to bridge this gap broke down after a couple of years, this setback only fortified his resolve. He immediately started a new pharma wholesale distribution company, determined to succeed by instilling his core values: determination, compassion and commitment to positive change.
These values shone brightly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working relentlessly with the VPD team, often risking his own life, Naitik Shah ensured the easy accessibility of essential medicines and healthcare equipment across India. This extraordinary dedication was recognized publicly by bestowing on him the prestigious award for his social and national service during Covid.
"I can, I will, and I lead." is a personal mantra of Mr. Naitik Shah, also reflecting his leadership philosophy. He believes himself to be a lifelong learner, continuously pushing to refine his skills with an evolving mindset. Shah attributes a significant portion of his personal growth and business acumen to the Unnati Teaching Institute, where he received training in personal growth and business leadership. To this day, he remains deeply connected to the institute, attending to learn and relearn the lessons of leadership while simultaneously sharing the wisdom gained from his industry experience.
Instilling his values into the culture of VPD, Mr. Naitik has consciously nurtured a family environment. Having personally experienced the hardships of his early working days, he holds a deep empathy for his employees. He ensures their well-being by compensating them with the highest salaries in the industry and, notably, never lets his employees work on an empty stomach, going so far as to order tiffin for anyone who forgets or tries to skip lunch.
Naitik Shah’s personal conduct also reflects his professional mission. He tries to avoid unnecessary personal expenses and channels resources toward charity for social betterment, especially education. His commitment to giving back is most evident in his private celebrations: he never cuts a cake to celebrate his birthday. Instead, he chose to spend the day with poor people and children, donating food and clothes; a heartfelt act that grounds his immense success.
His influence within the industry is recognized through his appointment as Vice President of the Jain Pharma Association. Yet, despite his many achievements and his powerful vision for VPD as a vehicle for social betterment, Shah remains humble. He consistently dedicates all his hard work and achievements to his revered guru, Yugpradhan Acharyasam Shri Chandrashekhar Vijayji Maharaj Saheb, and his god, Bherudada.
Naitik Shah is dedicated to his mission of making medicines easily accessible everywhere. He firmly believes that by expanding the horizon of his work and scaling VPD Medi India, the company can make a significant, ethical, and lasting contribution to the Indian economy. His journey is a powerful testament to how moral purpose and business acumen can converge to create profound societal impact.
Hardik Sharma
Chief Executive Office, VPD Medi India
Mr. Hardik Sharma serves as the Chief Executive Officer of VPD Company and is widely regarded as one of the main pillars and a game-changer in the organization's transformative success. His leadership is defined by a unique synthesis of scientific rigor, a deep understanding of human psychology, and an unwavering commitment to values derived from lifelong service.
Defying the common family ambition of settling abroad, Mr. Sharma prioritized a path driven by curiosity and a love for education, starting his journey by teaching tuition immediately after passing 12th standard. His educational pursuit reflects a truly rational and humanitarian mind: he first earned a Master of Science (M.Sc.) to satisfy his scientific curiosity, followed by delving into the Arts stream to explore human psychology. His passion for teaching and student development pulled him back to combine these interests by pursuing a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.).
This period was formative, as he realized the inherent limitations of conventional syllabus in preparing students for real-world challenges, leading him to focus on effective learning management, scheduling, and early involvement in HR functions.
Mr. Sharma’s personal and professional values are deeply rooted in his childhood passion for training and management, which began through offering seva (selfless service) with BAPS. He sincerely adheres to the teachings of Shri Pramukh Swami Maharaj and Mahant Swami Maharaj, actively offering service at BAPS events; renowned globally for their high quality management and social contribution.
While working with an IT company, where he helped drive expansion through innovative recruiting and human resources strategies, Mr. Sharma made a profound observation that guides his leadership today: people rarely fail due to a lack of skill, but rather a lack of dedication. Skills, he recognized, can be learned, but dedication and core values cannot. Consequently, he established a dedication-first hiring policy, a practice he still employs perfectly to ensure VPD builds a committed, values-driven team.
Mr. Sharma joined VPD because his mindset, values, vision, and goals aligned perfectly with those of the founder, Mr. Naitik Shah. His arrival marked a critical turning point for the company. Before his tenure, VPD was operating as a smaller, unorganized business. Hardik stepped in to help Naitik navigate significant organizational challenges, implementing systematic changes that drastically improved operational efficiency and formalized the business structure.
His unique strength lies in his dual background: scientific training to enforce accuracy in organizational processes, while his psychological insights enable him to understand and successfully motivate people, ensuring the entire team moves together towards VPD’s success.
Today, Mr. Sharma works relentlessly towards the ambitious goal of expanding VPD’s global presence and contributing substantially to the growing Indian economy. His ultimate innovative vision is to develop a business that operates autonomously, functioning seamlessly even in the absence of its leader, who only needs to be involved during pivotal, key decision-making processes.
Sunilkumar Pathak (Dhiraj Bhai)
Chief Warehouse Manager, VPD Medi India
Sunilkumar Pathak, affectionately known as Dhiraj Bhai across the organization, is the backbone of VPD's operational efficiency. Rising from the company's first-ever delivery person to Chief Warehouse Manager, his journey is an example of dedication and growth, perfectly illustrating the core VPD values: trust, growth from within, and a belief in character over credentials. He has been a trusted go-to person for over 11 years, providing stability and solutions across the entire floor and warehouse operation.
As the eldest son in his family, Dhiraj Bhai embraced early responsibility, grounding him with a mature and steadfast character. His professional journey began in a crockery shop in Mumbai, but his inherently calm nature quickly found the fast pace of the city contradictory to his spirit. Upon discovering the culture of Ahmedabad, which reminded him of his hometown of Kathwada, he finally found a place that resonated with his values.
It was in Ahmedabad that he became the first person, our founder Naitik Shah hired for his initial venture. Even after that early partnership dissolved, Dhiraj Bhai remained loyal and continued working alongside Mr. Naitik. This commitment proved to be the foundation for his career progression: from delivery person, he moved to an inward check worker, then to floor supervisor, culminating in his current appointment as a top executive and Chief Warehouse Manager (CWM).
Despite having limited formal education due to family responsibilities, Dhiraj Bhai made up for it through his sheer dedication and an unyielding hunger for learning and adapting. He recalls the initial difficulty of remembering and managing the organization’s first 2,000 pharmaceutical products. Today, through hard work and adaptability, he expertly manages an inventory of more than 10,000 products.
His dedication to VPD is legendary: during the necessary shift to a larger company premise, Dhiraj Bhai worked continuously for 48 hours, not only to ensure a seamless transition but also to guarantee that the customer needs and essential business operations were never impacted. He even took on the workload of his team members, treating them like family to ensure they receive adequate rest.
Dhiraj Bhai’s calm demeanor, even when facing significant challenges, has been instrumental in overcoming business hurdles and earning him immense respect. He leads with kindness, mirroring the treatment he received from early executives when he was a simple worker. He is always ready to lend support to others and always shy away from sharing his own personal struggles.
Early in his career, he faced stereotyping and unfavorable treatment in the market, but his consistent hard work and strong work ethic built him a solid reputation. The upper management’s recognition of his irreplaceable worth was highlighted when they convinced him to stay, successfully retaining him from an offer at Coca-Cola.
His deep knowledge of products and operations means he is the only person everyone, including the CEO and the founder, turns to for floor and product-related problems. The management has granted him full authority to make key warehouse decisions, confident that he will always act in the company’s best interest. He is not just a manager; he is the operational heart of VPD, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and a culture of mutual respect.