Indian American business executive Bhaskar Venepalli, a leader in chemical industry, has won the 2025 Henry F. Whalen, Jr. Award given by the American Chemical Society Division of Business Development & Management (BMGT).
Venepalli, the president and CEO of CiVentiChem, was chosen for his leadership in integrating chemistry and business, driving innovation, and advancing global pharmaceutical services through decades of scientific and entrepreneurial excellence.
“This award recognizes impactful contributions at the intersection of science, business, and leadership—a space I’ve been proud to work in with CiVentiChem for more than 30 years!” he wrote on Linkedin sharing the news of his selection.
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“I’m deeply grateful to the BMGT team for this recognition, and to the many mentors, colleagues, and collaborators who’ve been part of my journey,” he wrote. “A special thanks to the incredible team at CiVentiChem, including my Co-Founder and Managing Director Vasu (Srinivas) Chittineni — 30 years after founding the company, we’re still going strong and now expanding our manufacturing capacity for RSMs fourfold!”
The award will be formally presented at the American Chemical Society Fall National Meeting in Washington D.C. in August.
With a demonstrated history of working in the custom synthesis, contract manufacturing and CDMO industries, Venepalli has worked with pharmaceutical, agrochemical and specialty chemicals companies.
After beginning his career as a research chemist at Kodak, he quickly transitioned into business roles, ultimately co-founding CiVentiChem, a contract research organization (CRO) with facilities in Cary, North Carolina, and Hyderabad, India. Under his leadership, CiVentiChem has expanded its capabilities and is now quadrupling its manufacturing capacity for registered starting materials (RSMs).
A longtime advocate for chemists’ career development, Venepalli has chaired the ACS North Carolina Section, served on the Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs (CEPA), and presented ACS career workshops.
He is currently a councilor of ACS, a board director at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, and a trustee at North Carolina A&T State University. He holds a BS, MS, and PhD in organic chemistry from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India, and an MBA from the University of Rochester.
Established in 2002, the award honors Henry F. Whalen, Jr., a former ACS president and influential executive at Pfizer, who was known for championing the importance of leadership and business acumen within the chemical sciences.