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Meet the Innovation Drivers in MENA’s Healthcare Landscape
- U.A.E.-based leaders make up over 50% of the list with 51 entries.
- Saudi Arabia and Egypt have 23 and eight entries, respectively.
- Pharmaceutical leaders represent the biggest sector with 33 executives, followed by hospital facilities with 31 leaders, and diversified businesses with 13.
Dubai, U.A.E. – September 13, 2024: Forbes Middle East has unveiled its annual ranking of the region’s top healthcare leaders for 2024, spotlighting the executives of the region’s largest and most innovative healthcare firms. To construct this ranking, Forbes Middle East considered the size of the business—including revenues, assets, and facilities—diversity of operations, innovative initiatives, ownership of assets, and the experience, impact, and achievements of the individual.
For the second consecutive year, Shaista Asif, Cofounder and Group CEO of U.A.E.-based PureHealth Holding, tops the ranking. In the first half of 2024, the group recorded revenues of $3.4 billion and assets worth $13 billion. Said Darwazah, Executive Chairman of Jordan’s Hikma Pharmaceuticals placed second. In May 2024, Hikma established Hikma Spain, and in June 2024, it opened a commercial office in the U.K. Sulaiman Al Habib, Founder and Chairman of Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group rounds up the top three.
The GCC is also witnessing a major surge in healthcare investments, sparking notable developments and new additions to this year’s ranking. Among them is Saudi Arabia’s Health Holding Company, led by Nasser Al Huqbani, which is poised to absorb the Ministry of Health’s assets and manage healthcare clusters across the kingdom. Another standout is Mazen Fakeeh, who successfully led the listing of Fakeeh Care Group on the Saudi Exchange in June 2024. In the U.A.E., the sector saw significant growth with Hasan Jasem Al Nowais overseeing the launch of M42 in April 2023, following the merger of Mubadala Health and G42 Healthcare.
In the 2024 ranking, the U.A.E. retains its dominance, being home to over half the listees with 51 leaders, followed by Saudi Arabia with 23, and Egypt with eight. Pharmaceutical heavyweights reign sector-wise with 33 entries, followed closely by 31 leaders of groups operating hospital facilities, 13 leaders of diversified businesses, five heads each in medical devices and technology, and three leaders of major pharmacy chains. Amongst the top 10, four healthcare leaders represent hospitals while another four lead diversified operations in the sector.
The leaders and innovators of the region’s healthcare ecosystem are at the forefront of groundbreaking technology and strategic partnerships. In April, Alice Yammine Boueiz, the CEO of the Arab Hospitals Federation spearheaded a collaboration with the Geneva Sustainability Center and the WHO to enhance environmental sustainability and strengthen resilient healthcare systems. In May, Iyabo Tinubu-Karch, the CEO of Sidra Medicine announced the upcoming launch of Qatar’s first pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant program in partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Most recently, in July, Majid Al Fayyadh’s King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre teamed up with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology to develop NanoRanger, a gene sequencing system designed to target genetic diseases with unknown mutations.
Click here to view the complete Middle East’s Top 100 Healthcare Leaders 2024 list.
Top 10 Healthcare Leaders In The Middle East 2024
- Shaista Asif
Cofounder & Group CEO, PureHealth Holding
Sector: Diversified
Residence: U.A.E.
Executive Chairman, Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Sector: Pharmaceuticals
Residence: Jordan
Founder & Chairman, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group (HMG)
Sector: Hospitals
Residence: Saudi Arabia
CEO, The Health Holding Company
Sector: Diversified
Residence: Saudi Arabia
Managing Director & Group CEO, M42
Sector: Diversified
Residence: U.A.E.
Founder & Chairman, Burjeel Holdings
Sector: Diversified
Residence: U.A.E.
Group CEO, SEHA
Sector: Hospitals
Residence: U.A.E.
President, Fakeeh Care Group (FCG)
Sector: Hospitals
Residence: Saudi Arabia
Group Chairman, Tamer Group
Sector: Pharmaceuticals
Residence: Saudi Arabia
- Makarem Sobhi Batterjee
President & Vice Chairman, Saudi German Health (SGH)
Sector: Hospitals
Residence: Saudi Arabia
About Forbes Middle East
Forbes Middle East is a licensed edition of Forbes for the Arab world, championing inspiring business journalism and entrepreneurial capitalism. Its online and social platforms break news covering billionaires, business, investment, technology, economy, entrepreneurship, leadership, and luxury lifestyles. The monthly magazine, featuring in-depth interviews with the Middle East’s most influential and innovative leaders, is published in print in English and Arabic, with digital versions available to both regional and global audiences online. Forbes Middle East extends the Forbes brand of journalism across the Arab world, conducting its own comprehensive research to publish original lists that adhere to strict methodologies. Its content attracts business leaders, investors, active and potential entrepreneurs, and a wide audience of ambitious and influential executives.
Media contact: Basma Aly Sadek – [email protected]