Sunny Varkey (born 9 April 1957)McNicholas, Mona Parikh; Raj, Frank
"Sunny Varkey: Profit & Excellence In Education Go Hand In Hand"
''The International Indian''. 2008: Issue 5, Volume 15.5. pp. 56–60. is a

non-resident Indian Overseas Indians ( IAST: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) are Indians who live outside of the Republic of India. According to the Government of India, ''Non-Resident Indians'' are citizens of In ...

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 ...

-based education entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder and executive chairman of the global advisory and educational management firm

GEMS Education GEMS Education, founded as Global Education Management Systems (GEMS), is an Indian Emirati-based education company. It is a global advisory and educational management firm, and is the largest operator of kindergarten-to-grade-12 schools in th ...

, which is the largest operator of private kindergarten-to-grade-12 schools in the world, with a network of over 80 schools in over a dozen countries.Sunny Varkey
– Profile at ''

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 ...

''.List of Our Schools
''GEMSeducation.com''. He is also the chairman of the umbrella business organisation the Varkey Group, and the founder and trustee of the philanthropic

Varkey Foundation The Varkey Foundation, initially the Varkey GEMS Foundation, is a global charitable foundation focused on improving the standards of education for underprivileged children. It was formed in 2010 by Indian businessman Sunny Varkey, the founder and ...

. As of 2012, Varkey is also a

UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. UNESCO goodwill ambassad ...

.Goodwill Ambassadors – Sunny Varkey
''UNESCO.org''. Retrieved 13 September 2017. And in June 2015, Varkey committed to

The Giving Pledge The Giving Pledge is a campaign to encourage extremely wealthy people to contribute a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes. , the pledge has 236 signatories from 28 countries. Most of the signatories of the pledge are billionaires, an ...

, vowing to donate at least half of his money to philanthropic causes over his lifetime. He is the first education entrepreneur to join the pledge.

Early life and education

Varkey was born in Ranni,

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1957. His father, KS Varkey, and mother, Mariamma, were Kerala Syrian Christians, and educators.Hamdan, Sara
"Building an Education Empire"
''Global Citizen''. July/August 2012. The family moved to

in 1959, when the emirate was still very undeveloped."Education for profit in the Arab world"
United Arab Emirates: ''NRI Internet''. 7 December 2004. His father worked for

British Bank of the Middle East HSBC Bank Middle East Limited is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the Middle East. History The Imperial Bank of Persia (Persian: بانک شاهنشاهی ایران; Bank-e Šâhanšâhi-ye Irân) was a British ban ...

, and both of his parents taught English to local Arabs, including members of the royal family.''Peschardt's Business People'' – Segment: Sunny Varkey
''

Peschardt's People ''Peschardt's People'' is a documentary television series, hosted by Michael Peschardt, that premiered on BBC World on 1 April 2006. In the series, Peschardt interviews famous and not so famous personalities from the Asia-Pacific region. In orde ...

''.

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

. 9 April 2010. At the age of four, Sunny was sent back to Kerala to attend Infant Jesus Anglo-Indian Boy's School, a Catholic

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

city.Kerr, Simeon
"School rooms for everyone"
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

''. 18 June 2013. When he was 11 years old, he sold fruit on the side of the road to make a little extra money. He and his elder sister returned to Dubai in 1970, and Sunny completed his

O-Levels The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

at St. Mary's Catholic High School.Hui, Kok Xing
"Grad of the school of hard knocks"
''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

''. 14 September 2013. He pursued his

A-Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

Bembridge School Bembridge School was a British independent school in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, founded in 1919 by social reformer and Liberal MP John Howard Whitehouse, set in over on the easternmost tip of the island. Whitehouse intended for the school ...

in the UK for a year,Bhatia, Asha
"Early days of Varkey schools: it was a management challenge"
''

Gulf News ''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was first launched in 1978, and is currently distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf Countries. Its online edition was launch ...

''. 9 March 2001.Vijayakumar, Sanjay
"Sunny Varkey banks on Centum Learning to revive India business"
''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bus ...

''. 6 September 2012. and completed his A-Levels in Dubai at the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Career

GEMS education

History

The discovery of oil in Dubai in 1966 brought in many foreign workers, including many from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

; with the increased demand for an English-language education for the children of Indian expatriates, Varkey's parents founded

Our Own English High School Established in 1968, the GEMS Our Own English High School (OOEHS) – Dubai, is one of the oldest schools in the UAE. It was the first school established by K. S. Varkey and his wife, Mariama Varkey. The school is now managed by GEMS Education ...

in Dubai in 1968.Guttenplan, D. D
"Entrepreneur Seeks to Offer High-Quality Education at Fraction of Cost"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. 26 May 2013. Varkey returned to Dubai in 1977, and his employment included work at

Standard Chartered Standard Chartered plc is a multinational bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around 9 ...

bank, opening a small trading company and a maintenance company, becoming part owner of the Dubai Plaza Hotel, and entering the healthcare industry.Woodward, Will
"Business class"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. 12 December 2005. When in 1980 local authorities insisted that his parents' Our Own English High School be housed in a purpose-built facility, Varkey took over the operation of the school, which had under 400 students at the time. He soon dropped his other businesses, expanded the school, and added new schools as well. The education situation in Dubai was ripe for expansion, since local schools were only for native Arabs, and the children of the ever-increasing number of expats needed education of their own. Varkey opened Indian, Pakistani, and British schools, and offered education under the different curricula: Indian ( CBSE and ICSE), U.S., British, and later

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

.Lewis, Kathryn
"The man who built an education empire"
'' The National''. 13 September 2008.Sharif, Arif
"World’s Biggest Private School Operator GEMS Seeks $1 Billion"
''

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...

''. 27 March 2013. After creating a strong network of schools in the

Arab states of the Persian Gulf The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...

, in 2000 Varkey established Global Education Management Systems (GEMS), an advisory and educational management firm, in advance of his worldwide overseas expansion.Zachariahs, Candice
"The McSchool revolution"
''

''. 24 September 2004. In 2003, he began opening GEMS schools in England, beginning with Sherborne House in Hampshire and Bury Lawn in Milton Keynes. Soon afterwards, he took over

Sherfield School Sherfield School is a coeducational independent day & boarding school, located in Sherfield Manor by Sherfield on Loddon in the English county of Hampshire. and set in 76 acres of parkland. It is currently a school of over 400 pupils founded in ...

in Hampshire, and purchased another 10 schools in England, mainly in the north."No-Frills Public Schools: Day"
''NRI Internet''. 22 January 2005. In 2004, Varkey's GEMS group opened its first schools in India. Varkey continued to add schools in the subcontinent, and also purchased a controlling interest in the India-based Everonn Education, which the Varkey Group and GEMS manage. GEMS subsequently opened schools in Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Singapore, the U.S., Switzerland, and elsewhere around the globe. It is the largest operator of private kindergarten-to-grade-12 schools in the world.

Structure and philosophy

Varkey's GEMS schools are established in various price brackets, to serve all markets and income levels. The more expensive schools have more spacious grounds and amenities such as golf and tennis facilities, and smaller class sizes."Chalk, talk and customer service"
''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

''. 29 April 2004. Educational quality is maintained in the budget-range schools by using excellent teachers, by efficiency and economisation on time and space, and by capitalising on economies of scale: the huge network of GEMS schools shares resources and information and provides training to teachers across the whole system. When entering into new markets GEMS schools also benefit from local partners who understand local conditions; the partners provide local knowledge that may not be obvious through standard market research. GEMS schools aim to offer a holistic education, and to instill students with values of altruism and philanthropy. GEMS Education is geared to form graduates who are forward-thinking global citizens with universal values and leadership qualities. For GEMS students, Varkey stresses an ideology and atmosphere of multiculturalism, and the importance of giving back to others both locally and globally.

GEMS Education Solutions

GEMS has two divisions: schools and educational services. GEMS Education Solutions is the consultancy arm of GEMS Education, providing educational services and advice, and it was established in 2011. It works with governments and non-profits, and public and private clients, to transform the quality of global education and skills provision, using the resources of GEMS' more than 50 years of experience in the field.Rai, Saritha
"Billionaire Education Entrepreneur Varkey Takes His Dubai School Chain Worldwide"
''

''. 2 April 2014. One of GEMS Education Solutions' projects is assisting and advising the state school system in the

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 ...

. In

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, it implements MGCubed – Making Ghana Girls Great – which equips two classrooms in each Ghanaian primary school with a computer, projector, satellite modem, and solar panels, creating an interactive distance-learning platform to deliver both formal in-school teaching and informal after-school training. The project teaches 8,000 students in 72 Ghanaian schools, and is Sub-Saharan Africa's first interactive distance-learning project. In

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, via the Oxford Partnership, GEMS Education Solutions co-manages three newly built women's vocational colleges. The three-year diploma programmes include training in IT, communication, basic sciences, and English language, before moving onto specialisation and on-the-job training.

Varkey Foundation

Varkey developed a habit of philanthropy from the example of his father and from his own strong spiritual values. In December 2010, he consolidated and structured his various donations and charitable initiatives by creating the

(initially the Varkey GEMS Foundation) as the philanthropic arm of GEMS. The foundation intends to impact 100 impoverished children for every child enrolled at GEMS schools, via enrolment and education-access initiatives, worldwide teacher training programs, advocacy campaigns, and physical projects such as building classrooms, schools, and learning centres.

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

launched the foundation. MacriconSunnyVarkey

In March 2011, the foundation partnered with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

for

girls' education Female education is a catch-all term of a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...

in Lesotho and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, and donated $1,000,000 to the effort. In September 2011, a further $1 million was pledged with UNESCO to train 10,000 school principals in India, Ghana, and Kenya. In 2014, the foundation's Teacher Training Programme committed to train 250,000 teachers within 10 years in under-served communities across the world. In 2013, the Varkey Foundation helped launch the annual Global Education and Skills Forum, in partnership with UNESCO and the U.A.E. Ministry of Education. Bill Clinton gave the inaugural keynote address. Varkey hopes the annual forum will become the "

Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos R ...

of education". At the second annual forum in March 2014, Varkey announced the Global Teacher Prize, a $1 million award to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession, to be presented at the third annual GESF in 2015.

Varkey Group

Varkey Group is the umbrella organisation covering GEMS Education and Varkey's other businesses, including healthcare and, previously, construction. Varkey founded the company in 1979, and it is based in Dubai, with additional offices in the UK, U.S., and India. In 1984 Varkey founded Welcare, a healthcare consultancy and management venture which developed a number of hospitals and clinics.EHL Management Services
First Medical Centre. A controlling interest in Emirates Healthcare, the Varkey Group's umbrella company which held Welcare, was purchased by

Mediclinic International Mediclinic International plc, founded in 1983, is an international private hospital group with operations in South Africa, Namibia, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. The Group's head office is based in Stellenbosch, South Africa. It has b ...

in 2012. The sale of his healthcare sector allowed Varkey to focus on education and educational philanthropy.

Honors

*Global Indian Business Award (2007) *CEO Middle East Award – Corporate Social Responsibility (2007) *Outstanding Asian Businessman of the Year (2007) *

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

Award for Eminent Educationist (2008) *

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

Award (2009) *Honorary Order – Public Recognition award from the Government of Russia (2011) *Middle East Excellence CEO of the Year – Knowledge Development and Education Partnership (2012) *

(2012) *Education Business Leader of the Year, ''Gulf Business'' Industry Awards (2012) *Honorary Doctorate,

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

(2012) *Entrepreneur of the Year,

The Asian Awards The Asian Awards is an annual award ceremony for the global Asian community which takes place in the United Kingdom, with 14 categories that include business, philanthropy, entertainment, culture and sport. Nominees are selected by an independen ...

(2018)

Personal life

Varkey lives in Dubai. He is married and has two sons, Dino and Jay, who have taken leadership roles in GEMS Education, allowing him to focus on his philanthropic foundation.Members of the Board: Jay Varkey
''GEMSeducation.com''. Varkey's sister, Susan Mathews, runs pre-schools, and his wife and mother have both offered advice on the GEMS family business.Davidson, Sean
"The bottom line is vital. Losses are not an option"
''

Emirates 24/7 Emirates 24/7, stylised as Emirates 24, 7, is a Dubai Media Incorporated news website and television news programme, respectively. The televised news programme, Emirates 24/7, is a 30-minute segment broadcast weekly on Dubai Media Inc.'s televisio ...

''. 11 April 2009.

References

External links

Official siteSunny Varkey
– Profile at ''

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Varkey, Sunny Businesspeople from Kerala Businesspeople of Indian descent Indian chairpersons of corporations Indian emigrants to the United Arab Emirates Founders of educational institutions Indian philanthropists GEMS schools 1957 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education Kerala diaspora Giving Pledgers 21st-century philanthropists UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors