Azad Moopen (born 15 April 1953) is an Indian healthcare entrepreneur. He is the developer of many healthcare facilities in

Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...

. He is also the chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, a healthcare conglomerate in the Middle East and India founded in 1987.

Early life and education

Azad Moopen was born on 15 April 1953 in the Indian village

Kalpakanchery Kalpakanchery is a revenue village and a Gram Panchayat in Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district, Kerala, India. The village is located south-west to the city of Malappuram. Kadungathukundu, Puthanathani, Kurukathani, and Randathani are four maj ...

Malappuram district Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . It is the most populous district of Kerala, which is home to around 13% of the to ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. He was son of Late Mandayapurath Ahmed Unni Moopen, a noble, freedom fighter and social leader. Dr. Azad Moopen is a gold medalist in MBBS and a Post Graduate in General Medicine from

Government Medical College, Kozhikode Government Medical College, Kozhikode, also known as Calicut Medical College (CMC), is a school of medicine in Kozhikode (formerly Calicut) in the Indian state of Kerala. The college was established in 1957 as the second medical college in K ...

in Kerala. He is also a Diploma holder in Chest Diseases from

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

India.

Family

Dr. Moopen is married to Nazeera Azad and has three daughters namely Alisha Moopen, Ziham Moopen and Zeba Moopen.

Career

In 1982, Moopen started his career as a Medical Lecturer at

but he took a decision of relocating to

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

in 1987. From a single doctor clinic in Dubai in 1987, over 34 years, Aster DM Healthcare has grown into a global healthcare conglomerate of more than 377 facilities spread across eight countries The company is one of the largest integrated healthcare service providers in GCC and India. Along with providing medical care to millions of people across geographies, Aster DM healthcare now provides direct employment to more than 20,500 people which includes approximately 2,998 doctors and the numbers are still growing.

Healthcare development in India

Moopen has been involved in the development of

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

facilities in India. MIMS hospitals directly employ about 3,000 people. He participated in establishing the 600-bed tertiary care Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) hospital at

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

in 2001. This was the first multi-specialty hospital in India to receive

National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers), abbreviated as NABH, is a constituent board of Quality Council of India (QCI), set up to establish and operate accreditation programme for healthcare organizations. Formed in 2 ...

accreditation in 2007. The second 150-bed MIMS hospital was set up at

Kottakkal Kottakkal (literally-''Land of the Fort'') is a municipality, municipal town in Malappuram District, Malappuram district in Kerala, southern India having 32 Ward (country subdivision), wards. it is a part of Malappuram metropolitan area and a gr ...

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

district in 2009. MIMS Charitable Trust under his leadership established a rural health centre at the backward

Vazhayur Vazhayur is a census town in Malappuram in the state of Kerala, India. The Vazhayur Census Town has population of 36,909 of which 18,163 are males while 18,746 are females as per report released by Census India 2011. The 2018 Malayalam film S ...

Panchayat near

in 2008 and adopted 7,000 BPL members for comprehensive free out-patient and in-patient care. The trust is adopting the BPL population in the three wards around MIMS in the Corporation of Kozhikode and also plans to conduct a

breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and secret ...

and

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

screening programme.

Other activities

He was the Gulf Area convener of the Malabar Airport Development Action Committee, which spearheaded the efforts for the establishment of

Kozhikode International Airport Calicut International Airport , also known as Kozhikode Airport or Karipur Airport, is an international airport located in Karipur, Malappuram district of Kerala, India. It serves the Malabar region of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad and P ...

through a

public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Administ ...

initiative in the 1990s. This is the first airport set up with such private participation in the country. He is the founding chairman of the Association of Kerala Medical Graduates and the Association of Indian Muslims in the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. He is also one of the promoters of

Credence High School, Dubai Credence High School is a CBSE-affiliated co-educational Indian school in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was established in 2014 to provide education to the children of Indian expatriates and is located off Sheikh Zayed Road, in Al Quoz. The sch ...

, a secondary school he co-founded along with others in 2014. Moopen is vice chairman of the Social Advancement Foundation of India. He is involved with the charities Aster DM Foundation and Dr. Moopen Family Foundation.

IPO listing

In February 2018, Aster DM Healthcare announced its initial Public Offer

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

and had fixed a price Rs 180 to Rs 190 for the public offer. Dr. Azad Moopen believes the company will take a decision later to seek listing on other exchanges like London or Dubai.

Awards and recognitions

Padma Shri Award Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

(2011) *

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honour/Award) is the highest Indian award for Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India or an organisation or institution established and run by Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Orig ...

by the Government of India (2010) * Arab Health Award for "Outstanding Contribution of an Individual to the Middle East Healthcare Industry" (2010) * Best Doctor Award by the

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

(2009) * Dubai Service Excellence Award (2004) by the Government of

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

for the Group * Kerala Ratna Award by Keraleeyam presented by Shri

K G Balakrishnan Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan (born 12 May 1945) is an Indian judge who has been the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He is a former Chief Justice of India. He was the first judge from Kerala to become the C ...

, Hon.

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...

, in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

(2008) (Section - Reports 2008-2009) * Aslam Kshema Award by Kshema Foundation for outstanding effort to help economically deprived people (2009) *Lifetime Achievement Award by

FICCI The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla an ...

Healthcare Excellence Awards (2018) * Honored with the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the 9th Entrepreneur India Awards in 2019 * Received the 'Visionary CEO of the Year Award' in recognition of his contribution at the CEO Middle East Awards by

Arabian Business ''Arabian Business'' (''AB'') is a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis. The brand is aimed at the English- and Arabic-speaking communities and is published in both languages. Its circula ...

in 2019 * Awarded with a fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP), UK in 2019, for his significant contribution to the medical and healthcare profession. * Honored with the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the Gulf Indian Leadership Summit in 2018 * Recognized as one of the '100 Most Inspiring Leaders in the Middle East' by Arabian Business Magazine in 2018 * Listed #6 in the 'Top 100 Indian Business Leaders in UAE' by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

in 2017 * Arabian Business Achievement Award from the ITP Publishing Group in 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moopen, Azad Living people 20th-century Indian medical doctors Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 1953 births Indian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates People from Malappuram district Kerala diaspora Indian billionaires