Ajit, Baron Shetty is an Indian-Belgian businessman, who was born in Nellore, India on 20 May 1946. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Janssen Pharmaceutica, a pharmaceutical company and subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, with its headquarters in Beerse, Belgium. Shetty also serves as member of the Corporate Center Group Operating Committee and Vice President, Enterprise Supply Chain for Johnson & Johnson of New Brunswick, New Jersey in the United States. Ajit Shetty is married to Christine Clerinx, a niece of the founder of Janssen Pharmaceutica, the late Paul Janssen.
Ajit Shetty spent his early years in Madras, Tamil Nadu India, where he did his schooling at Madras Christian College and graduated from Loyola College in Madras. He received a B.A. degree in Natural Sciences and a PhD degree in Metallurgy from Trinity College at Cambridge University. In 1976, he obtained an MSIA degree from Carnegie Mellon University. He is also fluent in several languages, including Dutch, English, Tulu, Hindi, and Tamil. He joined Janssen Pharmaceutica, in 1976 and has held various positions in the company, including President of Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc., Piscataway, New Jersey, USA, from 1986 until 1989 in order to establish the business in the USA. He was Managing Director of Janssen Pharmaceutica from 1999 till 2008 and he is Chairman of the Board of Directors, since 2004, when he succeeded Bob Stouthuysen. Most recently he was head of Enterprise Supply Chain at Johnson & Johnson reporting directly to Bill Wheldon. He has spent 36 years at Johnson & Johnson in varying capacities.
Shetty is a member of the Board of Directors of VOKA since April 2000, and a Member of the Board of Directors of Forum 187 in Brussels since April 2006, and was elected as its Chairman in May 2006. He is also a Member of GS1 (Global Board of Governors, a global standards organization) in Belgium, a Member of the Corporate Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Baltimore, MD, USA, and a Member of the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
He was elected Manager of the Year in 2004 in Flanders by the magazine Trends and the Flemish Management Association (VMA). In 2007, Albert II of Belgium bestowed the title of Baron on Ajit Shetty for his exceptional merits. In February 2010 he received a Life-Time Achievement Award in India.