Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw actually wanted to become a master brewer, but she couldn’t find a job. Instead, she founded her own company, Biocon India, in 1978, when she was 25 years old. It was located in her garage, with starting capital of US$250. In the decades since then, it has developed into India’s biggest biotechnology group — and Mazumdar-Shaw has become the country’s richest woman. The “Biotech Queen” is fighting the civilization diseases of our time. Her company is a pioneer in the development of drugs for treating cancer and diabetes. Mazumdar-Shaw, who is now 65, is also an advocate for poor people’s improved access to medicine. Looking back, it’s a stroke of luck that she had to swear off beer.

Tony Fadell is a Gyro Gearloose of the digital age. He’s a US computer engineer who is known as the “father of the iPod” and was also one of the developers of the iPhone. After departing from Apple, he developed smart room thermostats at his own company, Nest, which he sold to Google a few years ago. Today Fadell, who is now 49, criticizes some of the spirits he has conjured up. He recently expressed his concern about smartphone addiction — a warning that may show he’s still ahead of his time.