NEW DELHI: Pharma major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Thursday said it has appointed Axis Bank’s former MD and CEO Shikha Sharma as company’s independent additional director for five years.”Shikha Sanjaya Sharma has been appointed as an additional director, categorised as independent, on the Board of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd for a period of five years, effective January 31, 2019,” the company said in a filing to the BSE.Sharma was the Managing Director and CEO of Axis Bank from June 2009 up to December 2018, it added.She has more than three decades of experience in the financial sector, having begun her career with ICICI Bank Ltd in 1980. During her tenure with the ICICI group, she was instrumental in setting up ICICI Securities, Dr Reddy’s said.Sharma holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and PGD in Software Technology from National Centre for Software Technology, Mumbai, it added.Shares of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories closed at Rs 2,723.75 per scrip on the BSE, up 2.21 per cent from its previous close.