Quick Facts
Biography
Navinchandra Jamnadas Engineer (born May 1951) is a British billionaire, the owner of Chemidex, a pharmaceutical company that he founded in 1981.
Early life
Navinchandra Jamnadas Engineer was born in May 1951. His father worked for the Kenyan civil service. In 1963, he was sent from Kenya to London to live with his aunt, and later studied at the London School of Pharmacy.
Career
Engineer's first job on graduation was a pharmacist for the Boots the Chemist chain, which he found "a little bit like the civil service"; one day he was shocked by a visiting area manager asking for a cup of tea when he was busy dispensing prescriptions, and resigned the same day.
Chemidex was founded by Engineer and his wife in 1981, and is based in Egham, Surrey.
In 1981, Chemidex opened its first pharmacy in Chertsey, Surrey. In 1999, he had 14 pharmacies which he sold to the German company Celesio for a reported £12 million. Chemidex then became a pharmaceutical company, and it acquired its first brand in 2000.
According to The Sunday Times, the business is valued at £1 billion and Engineer at £1.1 billion.
Personal life
He is married to Varsha Engineer. They have two children, and both studied medicine.