Azad Moopen (born 15 April 1953) is an Indian healthcare entrepreneur. He is the developer of many healthcare facilities in Asia-Pacific. 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 28 July 1953 in the Indian village Kalpakanchery in

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 . The most populous district of Kerala, Malappuram is home to around 13% of the tot ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

. He was son of Late Mandayapurath Ahmed Unni Moopen, a noble, freedom fighter and social leader. He did his Primary School education from GVHSS Kalpakanchery, Azad Moopen is a gold medalist in MBBS and a Post Graduate in General Medicine from Government Medical College, Kozhikode in Kerala. He is also a Diploma holder in Chest Diseases from

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

India.

Family

Moopen is married to Naseera Azad and has three daughters - Alisha Moopen, Ziham Moopen and Zeba Moopen.

Career

Moopen started his career in 1982 as a Medical Lecturer at Government Medical College, Kozhikode but decided to relocate to

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

in 1987. Starting with a single-doctor clinic in Dubai in 1987, Aster DM Healthcare grew into a global healthcare conglomerate of more than 377 facilities spread across eight countries in a span of 34 years. Aster DM Healthcare is one of the largest integrated healthcare service providers in the GCC and India. Along with providing medical care to millions across many countries, Aster DM Healthcare now provides direct employment to more than 20,500 people which includes approximately 2,998 doctors and counting.

Healthcare development in India

Moopen has been involved in the development of

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

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 as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

in 2001. This was the first multi-specialty hospital in India to receive National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers accreditation in 2007. The second 150-bed MIMS hospital was set up at

Kottakkal Kottakkal (literally-''Land of the Fort'') is a major municipality, municipal town in Malappuram district in Kerala, having 32 Ward (country subdivision), wards. It is one of the four municipalities in Tirur Taluk, besides Tirur, Valanchery, and ...

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a municipality and town in Kerala and the headquarters of the Malappuram district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Kerala, 4th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala and ...

district in 2009. MIMS Charitable Trust under his leadership established a rural health centre at the backward Vazhayur 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 breasts are two prominences located on the upper ventral region of the torso among humans and other primates. Both sexes develop breasts from the same embryology, embryological tissues. The relative size and development of the breasts is ...

and

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix or in any layer of the wall of the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later sympt ...

screening programme.

Other activities

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

Kozhikode International Airport Kozhikode International Airport , also known as Calicut International Airport (locally referred to as Karipur Airport), is an international airport serving the cities of Kozhikode and Malappuram in the state of Kerala, India. It also serves ot ...

through a

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

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), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

. He is also one of the promoters of Credence High School, Dubai, a secondary school he co-founded along with others in 2014. Moopen is the 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. 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 by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

(2011) *

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Award) is the highest Indian award for Overseas Indians or an organisation or institution established and run by Overseas Indian diaspora, constituted by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Go ...

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 The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

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

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

for the Group * Kerala Ratna Award by Keraleeyam presented by Shri K G Balakrishnan, Hon.

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...

, in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

(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 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 founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

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