I Microsoft’s Milestones

Technology

Microsoft’s Milestones

This year, Microsoft celebrates its 47th anniversary. Here’s a glance at some of the company’s biggest achievements in that time.

1975 Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft— originally spelt “Micro-soft”—to produce software for the MITS Altair 8800 minicomputer. Five years later, in 1980, the pair inked a deal with IBM to provide an operating system for its first PC. IBM introduced its PC with Microsoft’s 16-bit operating system, MS-DOS 1.0, in 1981.

1986 In 1985, Gates rolled out the Microsoft Windows interface for its MS-DOS operating system. The following year, on March 13, 1986, Microsoft went public. Its initial IPO had a $21 offering price, which rose to $35.5 before the end of the day. On the first day of trading, 2.5 million shares changed hands, raising $61 million.

1995 Microsoft’s Windows 95 program unveiled now-iconic features including the desktop, the recycle bin, the start button, and the taskbar. It also added a new “plug and play” feature for installing hardware.

1997 Microsoft purchased Hotmail, one of the world’s first webmail services, in 1997, replacing it with Outlook.com six years later.

2011 The tech firm bought Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011, expanding its focus on real-time video and voice communications.

2013 Having first launched the Xbox 360 in 2001, the software giant launched the Xbox One in 2013, which was the third home gaming console in the Xbox family. The device, which integrated with television, included a motion-sensing camera and microphone, played DVDs, and CDs, and allowed for making and sharing videos.

2014 Microsoft bought Stockholmbased game developer Mojang and its Minecraft franchise for $2.5 billion.

2016 LinkedIn, founded in 2002, floated on the New York stock exchange in 2011 with a value of $4.25 billion. Five years later, Microsoft bought the company in a $26.2 billion deal.

2017 Microsoft Teams launched as a new chat-based workspace in Office 365. It was initially made available to Office 365 business customers in 181 markets and 19 languages.

2018 Microsoft completed the purchase of GitHub, a codesharing service, for $7.5 billion in stock.

2020 In 2020, Microsoft announced it will be carbon negative by 2030, and by 2050 will remove from the environment all the carbon it has emitted since it was founded in 1975. In the same year, Microsoft set up one of the top five publicly-released supercomputers in the world, making new infrastructure available to train big AI models.

2022 Microsoft announced it plans to acquire Activision Blizzard—the gaming company behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft—in a $68.7 billion transaction that will make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company by revenue once the acquisition is completed. The deal is said to be Microsoft’s biggest acquisition in its 46-year history, and the largest M&A deal in tech history.

By Khadijah Khogeer

• STARTUPS •

Transforming Trucking

With a $10.5 million pre-Series A funding round under his belt, Sherif Taher, cofounder and CEO of Egyptbased trucking technology platform Naqla, is driving digital change in the country’s road freight sector.

A

As major construction work was underway in Egypt’s sprawling New Administrative Capital in December 2015, architectural engineer Sherif Taher was given a daunting task: gather 600 trucks to deliver building material, from steel to cement, in just 48 hours. “I found it a huge hassle. I ended up collecting only 320 trucks to deliver those goods,” remembers Taher. Taher cofounded truck technology startup Naqla, just months later in 2016 to address logistic delays and supply chain disruptions rife in Egypt’s road freight sector. Egypt’s trucking network is heavily fragmented, yet vital as the country accelerates the development of its infrastructure. Egypt allocated $15.6 billion to the transport sector in fiscal 2021/22. Naqla connects truck drivers to carrier companies through two apps, facilitating freight transportation from point A to point B. Since operations began in 2017, Naqla’s 10,500 truck drivers have completed over 100,000 total trips across Egypt. They have delivered more than 4.6 million tons of cargo for companies ranging from consumer goods giant Proctor & Gamble to local logistics agency LATT.

Naqla aims to expand its crossborder operations, delivering cargo between Egypt and neighboring countries.

On March 7, 2022, Naqla raised $10.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Egyptian companies El Sewedy Capital Holding, Hassan Allam Holding, and the Sallam Family. The startup plans to use the funds to enter new verticals, grow its talent pool and develop its tech, focusing on strengthening its AI-powered apps to support the digitization of the country’s logistic landscape. “Lack of connectivity between the shipper and the carrier is a real pain and there is no technology to modernize this market. It’s a very fragmented industry,” explains Taher, Naqla’s CEO. As the majority of Egypt’s freight is transported by road, trucks play an essential role in transporting goods for several industries. Egypt’s transport and logistics sector grew by 11% in FY 2020/2021, with $827.5 million in private investments in the sector last year, according to the country’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones. Coupled with a boom in public and private construction projects, like the new capital, investors also seem keen to support the digital innovation of Egypt’s logistics industry. Investments in Egyptian logistics tech startups rose from $2.7 million in 2017 to $52.6 million in 2021, according to Disrupt Africa data. Regional and local players have burst onto the scene. Last year, homegrown trucking marketplace Trella raised $42 million in one of Egypt’s largest funding rounds for a tech startup in 2021. Its investors include shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk’s venture arm Maersk Growth. In 2019, Trella acquired local rival Trukto. That same year, U.A.E.-based truck tech startups TruKKer and Trukkin both entered the Egyptian market. Cloud-based TruKKer, founded in 2016, raised $96 million in February 2022, while Trukkin, launched in 2017, last raised $7 million in June 2021. Taher remains unfazed by competition in the market. “I don’t call them competitors; I see them as helpers,” he says. “We need to help each other. I believe that we are far away from being a competitor. It’s a huge market.” Compared to Egypt’s $13 billion trucking sector, according to Naqla, the country is home to only 33 logistics startups, representing just 5.9% of the country’s tech startup ecosystem as of 2021, according to Disrupt Africa data. Taher remembers digital adoption in Egypt’s trucking industry being even rarer back in 2016, when he struggled to find support for the concept from tech firms. This is until he met his cofounder Samer Sallam. “We clicked from the first meeting,” recalls Taher. “I was so happy with that at that time. I hadn’t found anyone to take the risk with me until then and he was a really visionary cofounder to work with.” Taher took the disruptive tech to Egypt’s maritime ports, where he scored shipping giant Maersk as his first

client in 2017. “Big entities like that will appreciate the innovation and technology,” he notes. Three years later, in 2019, Naqla expanded into four commodity-focused sectors, including agri-business and construction. “I see Egypt is moving and developing construction and real estate projects and the infrastructure of the country. Naqla is riding this wave and we are carrying a lot of building material to support the economic Sherif Taher growth of the country,” says the CEO. While Naqla’s digital approach has disrupted Egypt’s trucking industry over the past five years, tech adoption remains the cofounder’s biggest challenge. “You’re trying to change and re-structure a huge industry that has been moving for hundreds of years with the same method and same methodology,” stresses Taher. “The industry has been driven by the middleman and brokers, and of course tech is disrupting this area.” Technology plays a crucial role in innovating supply chain efficiency, through enhanced productivity, waste reduction and the optimized use of resources, says Sara Elzarka, dean of the International Transport and Logistics Institute. “The supply chain in Egypt suffers from long lead time, excessive waiting time, mismanagement of inventory, and the high cost of logistics services,” explains Elzarka. “Startups like Naqla are definitely what the market in Egypt needs. We need to look towards outof-the box new ideas that would solve the longstanding challenges of the supply chain in Egypt. Matching the supply and demand for transportation services proved its success in the passengers’ transport sector, like with Uber and Careem.” Naqla will now invest some of the startup’s fresh funds and talent pool into Naqla Store, which is in pilot phase, and sells truck parts such as tires, batteries, and spares to drivers. The platform uses buy-now-pay-later payment solutions to provide financial flexibility for truck drivers. “It’s running in place as a pilot project and it will be launched online soon,” says Taher. The company is also gearing towards a Series A round. “It will be a big growth booster for the next phase,” he says. In 2022, Naqla also aims to expand its crossborder operations, delivering cargo between Egypt and neighboring countries. It’s a step towards Taher’s dream of expanding in Africa, a goal he’s had since the idea of Naqla sparked in December 2015. “I see Africa as the raw material resource nexus of the world. I see Africa as an underdeveloped continent that needs more development,” Taher affirms. “And Egypt is a great start for our product and the company to scale to other countries in the region.”

By Giacomo Tognini

CONTRARIAN • INNOVATION

Photograph by Wolfgang Wilde for Forbes

Nose for Business

Swabs for Covid testing made Copan CEO Stefania Triva a billionaire. Despite countless buyout offers, though, she’s snubbing the dealmakers and keeping the company firmly in the family.

O

On a foggy early January day in the northern Italian city of Brescia, which was hit hard by the first wave of Covid-19 in 2020, Stefania Triva, 57, sets out two swabs side by side on her desk. One is a regular cotton Q-tip, the other a special “flocked” swab, studded with tiny synthetic fibers that resemble split ends.

That special swab—made by her family’s 43-year-old company, Copan—is the key element in hundreds of millions of Covid19 PCR tests currently being plunged into noses around the world. Sitting in front of a large red-and-yellow abstract painting and a corkboard filled with photos of her three children, Triva delves into the subtle differences that make her flocked swabs the gold standard.

“In a cotton swab, the fibers are twisted around the stick, creating a cage that traps the sample,” she says, pointing to the thickly wound Q-tip. “But it only releases 20% of that sample. In a flocked swab, thanks to the mechanics of how the fibers are attached to the stick, you have the opposite: 80% is released.”

Family Ties “I can’t see myself anywhere else. It’s in my DNA,” says Copan CEO Stefania Triva, who got her start as a teenager packing boxes for her father’s company in the 1980s.

Those swabs—invented by Copan in 2003 and the subject of ongoing litigation with its leading rival, Mainebased Puritan Medical Products—have helped drive the company’s enormous growth; it manufactured 415 million of them in 2020, more than double the 2019 amount.

After ramping up production, Copan now has the capacity to produce 1 billion a year. Net income nearly quintupled in 2020, to $79 million, on revenue of $372 million. It blew past that figure in 2021, with sales growing to $445 million. (Net income was not yet available at press time.) A full 84% of Copan’s sales come from flocked swabs, which have been used in at least a billion molecular tests conducted in doctor’s offices and clinics around the world since the beginning of the pandemic. (That figure doesn’t include swabs for rapid tests or at-home kits, a tiny fraction of Copan’s business.)

That success has elevated Triva, who holds a 48% stake in Copan, into the billionaire ranks, worth an estimated $1.2 billion. Five other family members own the rest of the firm, which Forbes values at another $1.3 billion.

Copan’s runaway success has attracted the attention of several investment funds—Triva won’t name them—but the daughter of the company’s founder has no intention of selling. “We receive offers almost every day,” she admits. Confirms her nephew and Copan’s 32-year-old heir apparent, Giorgio Triva: “We’re at a size similar to other firms being sought out by these funds.”

But despite the SPAC boom and the proliferation of IPOs both at home and abroad—including the New York Stock Exchange listing in July of Stevanato Group, another Italian family-owned firm that received a Covid boost thanks to its vials for vaccines—she doesn’t plan to tap the public markets.

“When you’re a public company . . . it constrains your strategy and decision making,” she says. “We’re financially solid and independent, and this allows us to grow without seeking external funding.”

The growth of the past two years means Copan can continue expanding while keeping ownership firmly within the family. “We love being free, eclectic and fast, knowing that we sometimes need to take calculated risks,” Triva says.

That means investing in a future beyond the pandemic. In addition to medical tests, the firm also makes specialized swabs used in collecting forensic DNA from crime scenes. Clients run the gamut from Scotland Yard to the French Gendarmerie, which used Copan-made swabs to help identify the perpetrators of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. A microswab Copan and the Gendarmerie developed together enables authorities to analyze DNA from any bodily fluid—or even just fingerprints—in under two hours.

Beyond swabs, Copan already has a high-tech, and likely more lucrative, product to offer: a whole suite of machines and software that automates much of lab processing, from routine urine tests to complex bacterial infections. Lab automation, with $5 billion a year in revenue, is potentially a much bigger market than swabs. “We’ve made some innovations in automation that have revolutionized microbiology,” Triva says, glancing over the vast warehouses and factories outside the window of her office. Copan was founded in the northern Italian city of

Mantua in 1979 by Triva’s father, Giorgio Triva. It initially distributed only lab products others made, such as test tubes. The company began making swabs in 1982, the same year Stefania’s older brother Daniele, a chemical engineer, joined the family firm as general manager. Buoyed by strong product sales—including collection cups for blood analysis machines that gained a foothold in

Japan—Copan expanded overseas, opening a subsidiary in

California in 1995. Three years later it moved to its current location in Brescia, a major manufacturing hub. Daniele Triva took over after his father’s death in 2000, and Copan’s fortunes changed forever when he pioneered the now-ubiquitous flocked swabs in 2003. While out shopping for a winter coat, Daniele noticed how the nylon fiber strips on clothes hangers stuck closely to the fabric, and he wondered if it could be replicated in swabs. A book about Copan written by Elisa Erriu and Mario Mazzoleni recounted a story where Triva supposedly challenged his technicians to design a swab with adhesive fibers that could act like a sponge and release more sample material than a regular Q-tip could—promising them free pizza if they succeeded. Copan maintains that the conception and invention of flocked swabs was done solely by Daniele Triva and that he actually “involved the rest of the team only for the industrialization optimization process of the product after patent filing.” The new technology revolutionized diagnostics, making it easier to conduct routine tests for viruses and bacterial infections alike. “Before flocked swabs, they used The Vault Patent battles tend to drag on. Just ask Gordon Gould, who invented the laser, coined its name—then spent LASER BRAIN three decades fi ghting for credit. He had just emerged victorious when he sat down with Forbes in 1987. “Though Gould is understandably angry and bitt erabout his long years in court, the truth is he is infi -nitely bett er off fi nancially exactly because of the extended legal batt le he fought. If he’d gott en the patents as he should have, in the early 1960s, they would all have run out by now, and the infant industry he spawned would have earned him relatively little. As it is, Gordon Gould is now worth at least $25 million [$60 million in 2022 dollars], with a lot more to come.” —Forbes, December 14, 1987 No wonder Gould, cruising around the shores of Virginia in his new white Mercedes, was learning to let go: “Funny thing is, I’m not real angry at them anymore.”

aluminum wires to take nasal samples,” says Triva, grimacing.

Over the next decade, Copan expanded its California plant and opened an office in Shanghai. It began investing in automation in 2007, making proprietary machines called “walkaway specimen processors,” which robotically process thousands of samples a day, 24/7.

Starting in 2012, Copan became embroiled in a patent infringement battle with its largest competitor, Puritan Medical Products, after the American firm started producing its own flocked swabs. Copan alleges Puritan is violating several of its patents. The legal battle has raged for a decade and shows no signs of abating, with victories and defeats registered in courts from Maine to Germany and Sweden.

“They’ve always been our ‘illegal’ competitor,” Triva says. The ongoing lawsuit against Puritan in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine was stayed in May 2020 to allow the two firms to focus full-time on making swabs during the pandemic; the litigation has since resumed. Puritan denies the allegations but declined to comment for this article.

A heartbreaking development occurred in 2014, when Daniele died at 54 after a sevenmonth battle with cancer. Stefania, who started working at the company right out of college and had been director of quality assurance and regulatory affairs, stepped up.

“It was a very tragic period . . . but I never thought about giving up,” she says, taking a moment to breathe. “The only doubt I had was about our ability to go on, because my brother was a very important leader. So I met with all our longtime employees and issued a call to arms. I told them, ‘We can only do this together.’ ”

Under her leadership, Copan hasn’t stopped moving. The company established a new engineering facility near its headquarters in 2016 and later opened new offices and factories in Japan, Australia and Puerto Rico. But nothing prepared Triva, or the company, for the virulent wave of Covid-19 that washed over Italy in early 2020. The first case in the country was diagnosed on February 20 in the small town of Codogno, about 50 miles southwest of Brescia— naturally, with a Copan-made flocked swab.

Facing a national emergency, Copan placed its employees on nonstop seven-day shifts to meet the Italian government’s demand for testing swabs. It also ramped up production to provide much-needed supplies to the United States, with U.S. Air Force planes landing in Brescia late that March and into April to pick up a total of 4 million swabs.

“Brescia was massacred by Covid-19, but our employees were always there,” Triva says, recalling a period when the city of 200,000 and the surrounding province were recording dozens of Covid-related deaths a day. “All you could hear was ambulance sirens, but they kept working, even on weekends and holidays.”

The company hired hundreds of new workers to keep up with the extraordinary surge in demand. It also received two grants for $10 million apiece in 2020, one from Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund to build a new California plant, the other from the U.S. Department of Defense to increase production at its Puerto Rico factory.

It also doubled down on robotics, launching a machine called UniVerse that automates the preparation of samples for medical tests—for Covid-19 but also other infectious diseases including tuberculosis—freeing up overworked lab technicians to focus on less menial tasks.

Copan’s latest innovation is a machine that cuts diagnosis time by 80% for infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Builtin artificial intelligence helps keep the system running smoothly. Tests can be completed in roughly four hours, and negative samples are automatically sent to the trash.

Already the strategy seems to be working: Copan WASP, the firm’s automation division, recorded $54 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2021, up 39% over the previous year and exceeding its haul for all of 2020; it now makes up nearly a fifth of overall sales, the company says.

Triva credits her team, and her brother’s legacy, with that success: “[Daniele] sowed an entrepreneurial culture,” she says, “not just to me, but to the whole company.” And as long as she’s in charge, that tradition, and Copan itself, will remain all in the family.

HOW TO PLAY IT

By Jon D. Markman The global pandemic forced health-care companies to be more agile and innovative. The best way to play this trend is Danaher. The Washington, D.C.–based conglomerate controls 20 healthcare and scientific businesses operating under a shared business strategy. Its subsidiary, Cepheid, won FDA approval in March 2020 for the first point-ofcare coronavirus test kit, with results ready in only 45 minutes. The innovation was heralded as a new phase of testing. Danaher executives estimated in January that 2021 sales would be approximately $29 billion, up more than 30% from a year ago. Based on sales momentum, shares could trade to $380 during the next 18 months, a gain of 46% from current levels Jon D. Markman is president of Markman Capital Insight and editor of Fast Forward Investing.

FINAL THOUGHT “THE FIRST OF EARTHLY BLESSINGS, INDEPENDENCE.”

• COVER STORY •

HARNESSING HEALTHTECH

Sherif Beshara, CEO of American Hospital Dubai and Group CEO of the Mohamed & Obaid Al Mulla Group, has been investing in AI and robotics to stand out in the U.A.E.’s competitive private healthcare sector. With plans for a care network in place, education could be the next game changer.

BY CLAUDINE COLETTI

Sherif Beshara, CEO of American Hospital Dubai and Group CEO of the Mohamed & Obaid Al Mulla Group

The U.A.E.

has long been working to establish itself as a global hub for healthcare. Since the first hospital was opened in the emirates in the 1960s, the sector has grown exponentially. According to government statistics, there were 45 hospitals in the public sector and 98 in the private sector by 2017.

Data from a 2021 Dubai Healthcare Investment Guide indicates that by 2019, there were six public and 33 private hospitals in Dubai alone. Today, the healthcare sector is a competitive market, with hospitals and holding companies investing in technology and partnerships to offer local and international patients top-of-the-range care.

For the 254-bed American Hospital Dubai, based in the emirate’s Healthcare City, this has meant capitalizing on medical technologies and education to establish itself as a key player. Having invested 25% of its total budget into technology in the last five years, the hospital reports that it saw its total net revenues grow 78% between 2017 and 2021. Since it was established in 1996, it has treated more than a million patients and performed over 150,000 surgeries.

The last two years have seen a swathe of tech-based announcements from the private healthcare provider. In January 2022, it partnered with Siemens Healthineers to give it access to the medical device company’s latest diagnostic imaging and lab diagnostics equipment. Six months previously, in July 2021, the hospital launched a robotic surgery training hub and education academy onsite and at the College of Medicine at Sharjah University in partnership with Robotics Surgical Systems and British medtech company CMR Surgical.

The hospital already has a team of laparoscopic surgeons that are also able to perform, teach, and attest robotic surgeries. “We started with one surgeon; right now, we have 16,” says Sherif Beshara, CEO of American Hospital Dubai, and Group CEO of the Mohamed & Obaid Al Mulla Group, which owns and operates the facility. “You cannot have a center of excellence if you don’t have education or research. So, we are using the latest technology to teach others, to expand our know-how, and to build an American Hospital care network.”

While it works to establish its own regional care network, the American Hospital also benefits from the expertise of the global Mayo Clinic Care Network as one of only a handful of Middle Eastbased international members of the knowledge-sharing organization. The network connects experts around the world so that they can share and learn from the research and experience of multiple healthcare providers. It has more than 40 international members, including Saudi German Hospitals in Riyadh and Cairo, the International Medical Center in Saudi, and the American Hospital Dubai in the U.A.E. “It’s about quality of care,” says Beshara. “They support us in getting second opinions.”

Pooling technology and expertise has led to a number of recent firsts for the American Hospital Dubai. In June 2021, one of its patients—a 72-year-old British

“You cannot have a center of excellence if you don’t have education or research. So, we are using the latest technology to teach others, to expand our know-how, and to build an American Hospital care network.”

Sherif Beshara

expat—became the first to have both his knees, which were degenerating, replaced with implants using a ROSA robotics system. In the October, a 63-year-old Nigerian medical tourist became the first at the hospital to undergo bone marrow transplant treatment, just one month after its bone marrow transplant unit had opened.

“Right now, American Hospital is a destination for complicated patients and surgeries. It’s for people that are really stuck and need a proper solution for their complications,” insists the CEO. His approach to creating a specialized USP for the hospital is one that he has followed since he first took its helm just three and half years ago. Coming from a corporate rather than healthcare background, at the time it was an unexpected career turn for the professional lawyer.

Beshara started out in private legal practice in 1999, holding senior roles in legal counsel for Barclays Bank and Air Arabia before joining the Mohamed & Obaid Al Mulla Group and becoming its Group Chief Legal Officer in 2017. At the time, the private family-owned business had been active since 1942 and had a diverse portfolio across a number of sectors, including in healthcare through the American Hospital Dubai, which follows American healthcare protocols, governed by an inhouse auditing system, with all 220 physicians American Board Certified or equivalent. Some of the family group’s other holdings include 21.7% of Dubai Insurance, 26.1% of Emirates Investment Bank, and 10.2% of Dubai Refreshments. Five years ago, its new recruit thought he could see some untapped potential.

Beshara approached the board with an idea: an overhaul in the cooperate governance structure to stimulate growth. “They had an amazing portfolio, but they were on silent mode for many years,” Beshara explains. “We suggested dividing the group into four sectors—healthcare, hospitality, real estate, and investment—and recruiting a CEO for the group.” The leadership were convinced to go ahead with the restructuring plan, but the first person to accept the Group CEO position pulled out at the last minute. The board turned to Beshara to fill the role. He stepped into his current position in November 2018, deciding from the start to focus on healthcare. “I was sure that American Hospital was the gate to growth for the whole group,” he says.

At the time, the U.A.E. was investing considerably into its public and private healthcare sectors. Data from the U.S.-U.A.E.

Business Council indicates that in 2018, total expenditure on healthcare for the emirates stood at $18.2 billion, and was expected to rise to $21.3 billion by 2021. According to the World Bank, in 2019 the U.A.E. was spending nearly 4.3% of its GDP on healthcare at $1,843 per capita. By then, the American Hospital Dubai was one of the Mohamed & Obaid Al Mulla Group’s biggest assets, but it had been facing increasing competition from new market entrants for nearly a decade, and that had impacted its results. To get it back on track, it needed new investment to help it rival other big players in the U.A.E.’s burgeoning private healthcare sector and to help it claw back some market share.

Approaching the task from the perspective of a patient, Beshara made innovation and technology core to his new vision for the

American Hospital For the 254-bed American Hospital Dubai, based in the emirate’s Healthcare City, this has meant capitalizing on medical technologies and education to establish itself as a key player

hospital, investing in robotics programs across general surgery, gynecology, neurology, and orthopedics. Using robotic tools to perform surgery via smaller incisions is reportedly more precise, more accurate, and less invasive—although even with robotic surgery, the power is still very much in the hands of human surgeons, who control the movements of the robot arms via a console. Faster recoveries and fewer corrective surgeries potentially make robotics cheaper for insurance companies and less risky for patients. For Beshara, the benefits are multiple. “The complications

from laparoscopic is much higher than robotic,” he explains. “For me, the main advantage is that you don’t need many narcotics after the surgery, or you don’t need a narcotic or painkillers at all.”

While the hospital expanded with the new tech, it was far from the only player recognizing the opportunities. Globally, as healthcare has continually digitized, the market for surgical robots has risen considerably. According to estimates from Statista, the global market size for surgical robots stood at $4.5 billion in 2016, $5.1 billion in 2017, and is forecast to hit $12.6 billion by 2025. In the U.A.E. alone, Al Zahra Hospital and Mediclinic City Hospital in Dubai, and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi are among some of the biggest private players also investing in the latest robotic equipment. However, as competition heats up, experts

American Hospital announced that it was partnering with Cerner and Oracle Cloud Applications for a digital transformation overhaul, implementing a new electronic health record to help physicians improve care for patients believe that investments in technology should be carefully implemented. “With several competing hospitals in the Middle East racing to adopt the latest technologies, healthcare providers cannot depend solely on new technologies to add a competitive advantage,” says Jad Bitar, Managing Director and Senior Partner at the Boston Consulting Group. “Hospitals should use new technologies to change the way they operate both clinically and how they serve patients. The ensuing paradigm could drastically improve the hospital’s outcomes, in parallel to raising patient satisfaction.” While American Hospital Dubai’s leadership continued to reassess its infrastructure and its position in the market, early 2020 saw the global

Covid-19 pandemic hit. In response, the Mohamed & Obaid Al Mulla Group quickly converted one of its hotel assets, the Holiday Inn Express at

Dubai Airport, into a temporary 390bed field hospital purely for Covid-19 patients. The American Hospital closed its two satellite clinics in Barsha and Al

Khawaneej and moved nurses to the new campus. “On the first day we opened,

I found my housekeeping staff waiting outside the hotel—they were panicking, they didn’t want to enter,” remembers Beshara. His response was to move the entire management team to the hotel, converting one of the boardrooms to a command center and having daily meetings to plan as the situation progressed. “We stayed in the hotel for 55 days; we didn’t spend one night in our homes,” says the CEO.

Dealing with a global pandemic didn’t stop American Hospital from continuing with its investments in technology and research. In early-June 2020, it opened an AI research lab within the hospital’s data center in collaboration with U.S.-based medtech company Cerner to use big data analytics and machine learning to support clinical research and improve operations, as well as collect valuable data on Covid-19 admissions. Later that month, it announced that it was partnering with Cerner and Oracle Cloud Applications for a digital transformation overhaul, implementing

a new electronic health record to help physicians improve care for patients, and a new resource planning platform to help the hospital reduce costs and enhance productivity.

Its developments in AI could put American Hospital Dubai ahead of the curve. “The Covid-19 pandemic has clearly accelerated the transition towards digital healthcare with AI and robotics gaining momentum in the Middle East, but its penetration in the healthcare sector is still lagging compared to more developed markets,” says Nikhil Idnani, Managing Director & Partner at Boston Consulting Group. “While the adoption of AI in clinical decision support is expected, its application in true clinical settings remains contentious.”

In January 2021, American Hospital Dubai and Cerner announced the outcomes of the first model from their AI research lab, which used data to make predictions on Covid-19 patient mortality and ICU admissions. Findings included that the top three chronic conditions contributing to higher ICU admissions and mortality in Covid-19 patients were hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. The model also found that the risk of ICU admission for women that tested positive for Covid-19 was higher if they had a body mass index above 25. The lab is now working on its second model, looking at people that suffer from asthma and factors contributing to emergency department admissions.

In the meantime, the CEO is planning local expansion through outpatient clinics and day-care surgeries, while also eying investments in Egypt. And as the hospital’s robotic surgery training hub welcomes new students, he’s still clear on where the real value lies. “You can invest billions in tech, but you cannot drop the human brain. Human capital is number one, then technology, then the vision and strategy and spirit,” he reasons. “Then you press start and go.”

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Healthy Innovators

When Forbes last released its ranking of the world’s 100 most innovative companies in 2018, these seven listed companies featured under the “healthcare equipment and services” category. Market caps below are as of March 24, 2022.

Company Market cap Country

AmerisourceBergen $31.9 billion U.S. Provides pharmaceutical products and business solutions to improve access to care.

Align Technology

Intuitive Surgical

$34.4 billion U.S.

Designs, manufactures, and markets orthodontics, restorative, and aesthetic dentistry products.

$100.9 billion U.S. Develops, manufactures, and markets da Vinci Surgical Systems.

Essilor International $81.4 billion U.S. Designs, manufactures, and sells ophthalmic lenses and instruments.

Edwards Lifesciences $68 billion U.S. Engages in patient-focused medical innovations for heart disease and critical care monitoring.

Boston Scientific

$61.2 billion U.S. Develops, manufactures and markets medical devices used in interventional medical specialties.

Cerner

$27.5 billion U.S.

Designs, develops, markets, installs, hosts and supports healthcare IT, healthcare devices, hardware and content solutions.

• TOP 50 HEALTHCARE LEADERS •

REFINING PHARMA

Said Darwazah, Executive Chairman of Hikma Pharmaceuticals, has helped build his family business into a global enterprise over the last 41 years. With a market cap of over $6.2 billion, the Jordanian company is today competing with international heavyweights.

BY JASON LASRADO

Said Darwazah, Executive Chairman of Hikma Pharmaceuticals

While

the last two years have seen a number of international pharma companies, such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca, become household names thanks to vaccine rollouts, the Middle East’s biggest pharmaceutical company has flown largely under the radar.

Yet Hikma, which was founded in Jordan, is a formidable global player. “We actually have 17% market share in the U.S., in the hospitals,” says Said Darwazah, Executive Chairman of Hikma Pharmaceuticals. “That means one out of every six products that’s used in the hospitals in the states is a Hikma product.”

Hikma has made its mark developing, manufacturing, and marketing branded and non-branded generic medicines across the Middle East, Europe, the U.S., and Asia Pacific. Established in 1978, today the FTSE 100 company has a market cap of over $6.2 billion, 31 manufacturing plants, and seven R&D centers worldwide. Its share price has increased over seven times since it went public in 2005. In 2021, Hikma recorded revenues of $2.6 billion—9% higher than 2020. And while 2021 profits were down 2% compared to 2020 and are still 13.6% lower than pre-pandemic levels, in February 2022, the company announced that it would be executing a share buyback program of up to $300 million during 2022, and in March Fitch reaffirmed its BBB- rating.

The drug-maker manufactures or sells over 670 products globally, with the U.S. being its biggest market, contributing 60% to total revenues, followed by MENA, with Saudi and Egypt being the biggest markets in the region. Injectables are by far the company’s biggest source of revenue, generating $1.1 billion in 2021, compared to $820 million from noninjectables and $669 million from its branded drug business.

These results come off the back of the company’s latest acquisition. In September 2021, Hikma announced that it was buying Custopharm, a U.S.-based generic sterile injectables company, for up to $425 million, made up of $375 million in cash and a further $50 million to be paid upon the achievement of specific milestones. While the move was still awaiting approval from the U.S.’s Federal Trade Commission at the time of writing, once complete it will boost Hikma’s already burgeoning injectables product portfolio, adding 13 approved and additional pipeline products. Hikma has also invested big in research and development—its R&D expenses for 2021 were $143 million, up from $137 million in 2020. “All these new medications that are coming out, most of them are injectables. They all come in vials and there is huge overcapacity,” explains Darwazah. “I believe we can grow tremendously by becoming a major manufacturer of injectables, and by continuing to invest in R&D to come up with new products for the hospitals as well.”

Hikma—meaning “wisdom” in Arabic— has achieved a rare feat, becoming a global enterprise from Arab roots. Today, the company’s operations are spread across the world. In the U.S. the company is headquartered in New Jersey, with two manufacturing plants and two R&D centers. In MENA, it has a presence in 18 countries, with local manufacturing facilities in seven markets, including FDA-inspected facilities in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. In Europe, it has manufacturing facilities in Portugal, Germany, and Italy, and offices in Germany, the Netherlands and France.

“Hikma is one of the best positioned companies in our UK Healthcare coverage in these volatile times,” says Paul Cuddon, Director of Healthcare & Life Sciences Research at U.K.-based investment bank,

“I believe we can grow tremendously by becoming a major manufacturer of injectables, and by continuing to invest in R&D to come up with new products for the hospitals as well.”

Said Darwazah

Numis. “The quality, diversity and visibility on sales has never been higher, with margins reflecting its manufacturing efficiencies, strong relationships with customers and a continuing drive to invest in the pipeline.”

It’s come a long way since it was founded in Jordan by Darwazah’s father Samih Darwazah, who started the business at the age of 47 after a long career as an executive in the pharmaceutical industry, including a 12-year stint at American pharma giant Eli Lilly. Darwazah joined the company three years later in 1981. Even then, the vision was to create a global brand. “We never had any ambition of being just a small local player; we always wanted to be a big international company,” Darwazah remembers. “We always dreamt big. We had big vision, and we wore much bigger shoes than we could have.”

However, the small family business faced challenges from the beginning. According to Darwazah, at that time, some gulf countries would only grant licenses to produce and sell pharmaceutical products to the original creator, meaning two companies could not sell the same drug. It took three years for him to secure licenses to sell Hikma pharma products across the region—then he had to convince doctors to prescribe them.

The company conducted market research to find out what doctors were looking for. “Physicians said this is medicine. People are sick, we need to make them better, so we need to be sure that the product is good,” recalls Darwazah. Realizing that quality was the key to success, the father and son team began to seek out approvals from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Seven years after Hikma was established, it became the first Arab pharma manufacturer to receive FDA approval. Simultaneously, it also began licensing products from Japanese and Korean manufacturers.

By 1990, business was thriving, and Darwazah’s father decided it was time to expand. He gave his son $2 million and sent him to the U.S., stating that he wasn’t to return until he’d acquired a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company. Darwazah approached the Arab Bank for advice, which put him in touch with a lawyer in New York. He spent the next year in the U.S., learning the business environment and speaking to advisors and investment bankers.

In 1991, Darwazah bought a 40-year-old company called Westward Pharmaceuticals, which had a good reputation but was losing money, and he moved to New Jersey to run the company. However, just a few months later, the FDA accused the company of selling

substandard products under its previous owners. By the end of the year, Darwazah was forced to close the company. He spent the next 12 months working with the FDA to resolve the dispute, rebuild trust, and restart production, and by the end of 1992 things were back on track. Darwazah secured a bank loan of $5 million to cover losses and reinvest, and spent the next four years in New Jersey, running the business and starting a family of his own. In 1995, however, an unexpected call came—his father had agreed to serve as a Minister in the Jordanian government and Darwazah was needed at home. He packed his bags and returned to Jordan as CEO of the family business. While he had been away, Hikma had also expanded in Europe and the Middle East. Samih Darwazah, who started the business at the age of 47 after a long career as an executive in the pharmaceutical industry By the early 2000s, Hikma had grown to be a large and successful holding company, and plans were underway to go public. But in 2003, another unexpected phone call brought a new twist, this time from the Prime Minister of Jordan, asking Darwazah to serve as the country’s Minister of Health. He accepted, and his father returned to the company as chairman and CEO. This meant it was the founder at the helm when the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2005. “You know, he was in his early 70s, and the guys that worked with him told me he was the happiest man on Earth,” says Darwazah. “He was the first on the bus, or the first on the plane, and the last to go to his room at night to go to sleep.” Darwazah ended up serving in the government for four years. Among many campaigns, he worked on raising finance for welfare programs and awareness about chronic diseases such as diabetes and blood pressure, even going on television to encourage people to change their habits. During his tenure, Jordan became the first Arab country to ban the advertising of tobacco. He returned to Hikma in 2007—but while he’d left

a successful family business, he returned as the CEO of a listed company. Now there were shareholders to please. “We promised our shareholders that we would double business every four years,” says Darwazah. “It was a big commitment.” To meet that promise, Hikma began growing both organically and through acquisitions. The company set up new plants in the Middle East, and acquired companies including Al Dar Al Arabia in Algeria and Société de Promotion Pharmaceutique in Morocco. But its bigger acquisitions were in Europe and the U.S., where it focused on buying generic businesses from big pharma. This included acquiring German oncology sales and marketing company Ribosepharm from Ratiopharm in 2007 for $45 million in cash, and U.S.-based Baxter’s multi-source injectables business in 2011 for $112 million. In 2015, it acquired Roxane Laboratories Inc. for $1.7 billion, and Boehringer Ingelheim Roxane Inc. for $647 million in cash and 40 million new Hikma shares.

Darwazah’s father retired in 2014, and in 2018 Darwazah also stepped down as CEO, became the company’s executive chairman. While he has taken a step back from the dayto-day running of the operations, Darwazah now focuses on the bigger picture for the business, as well as serving as chairman of the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and sitting on the boards of a number of universities and high schools, through which he helped create Edraak in 2014, an online platform offering original Arabic courses. “[Darwazah’s] passion for advancing education in Jordan and the region has been a driving force for Edraak to innovate and deliver high quality online learning experiences,” says Shireen Yacoub, CEO of Edraak. “With his visionary leadership and continuous support as chairman of the board, Edraak has grown to become a leading online learning platform, serving more than 5.5 million learners across MENA.”

“My father went to the states on a Fulbright scholarship when he was young,” says Darwazah, explaining his current passion for education. “Had he not gotten that scholarship, who knows, we could have stayed living in Jordan with my father working in a pharmacy.” Having helped grow his family business from a small startup in Jordan to one of the fastest-growing pharma companies in the world, Darwazah today still attributes his success to the basics handed down through a generation. “My father taught me that culture has to evolve, but values never change,” he reflects. “Honesty, integrity, straightforwardness, and transparency. These are in everything.”

“We never had any ambition of being just a small local player; we always wanted to be a big international company.”

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Biggest International Pharma

The five biggest pharma giants in the world by revenues earned a combined $384.6 billion in 2021.

Johnson & Johnson

Total sales: $93.8 billion U.S.

Johnson & Johnson invested $14.7 billion into R&D in 2021, and performed over 10,000 procedures with Monarch, its first robotic bronchoscopy technology platform.

Sinopharm

Pfizer

Roche

Revenue: $82.1 billion China

Revenue: $81.3 billion U.S.

Revenue: $71.2 billion Switzerland

Sinopharm has 1,100 subsidiaries and encompasses six listed companies. It started developing its Covid-19 vaccine in January 2020, and now plans on producing five billion doses a year.

Pfizer produced over three billion doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, and spent $10.5 billion on R&D. Pfizer’s medicines today reaches around one in every six people on the planet.

Roche, which is a combination of Roche Pharma and Roche Diagnostics, is 125 years years old. The company topped the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices in 2021.

Abbvie

Revenue: $56.2 billion U.S.

Abbvie employs more than 50,000 people in over 70 countries. The company has spent over $50 billion in R&D since its launch in 2013 and has manufacturing and R&D facilities in 20 countries.

THE MIDDLE EAST’S

TOP 50 HEALTHCARE LEADERS

As the world recovers from the global pandemic, the significance of the healthcare sector is more prominent than ever. The world has seen the industry minting historic recordbreaking achievements and innovations over a short span of time. Funding and investment in healthcare has also spiked in the last couple of years, with global health innovation funding rising by two folds to $44 billion in 2021 compared to 2020, while acquisitions of health and healthtech firms grew by 50%, according to the World Economic Forum.

This month, we release our first ranking of the Middle East’s Top 50 Healthcare Leaders, featuring the heads of the region’s largest and most impactful healthcare organizations that are influencing the lives of millions of people in the Middle East and globally.

Leaders of pharmaceuticals companies dominate the list with 20 entries, followed by heads of the largest hospitals in MENA with 19. The U.A.E. dominates the list with 25 of the 50 firms based in the emirates, followed by 13 in Saudi Arabia, six in Egypt, two in Qatar, and one each in Kuwait, Algeria, Jordan, and Morocco.

Methodology For this ranking, we included leaders that span the healthcare ecosystem, including hospitals and clinics, pharmaceutical companies, diagnostics centers, and health technology providers. All individuals had to be based in the Middle East. Leaders directly working for government—such as the health ministry or department of health officials—were not considered, however, leaders of government-owned companies were considered.

When creating the ranking, we considered the following criteria, with each point assigned a weight: • Size of the company—revenues, assets, etc. • Impact of leader on the region’s healthcare sector. • Innovative initiatives and systems implemented by the leader. • Experience of the leader. • Diversity of operations. • Ownership of assets.

To nominate yourself or someone else for our lists, email: info@forbesmiddleeast.com

THE MIDDLE EAST’S TOP 50 HEALTHCARE LEADERS

1. Sulaiman Al Habib

Founder and Chairman Company: Dr.Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services Group (HMG) Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Hospitals HMG today has over 22 medical facilities, including seven hospitals with over 1,900 beds across Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. The $2.9 billion asset company recorded $1.9 billion in revenues for 2021. The company has five more hospitals in its pipeline, with 1,466 beds expected to be operational in the next couple of years. Al Habib is the largest shareholder in the company, owning 40.03% of its shares, valued at approximately $6.8 billion, making him one of the richest doctors in the world. Al Habib is a qualified pediatrician and was chief medical officer at King Khalid University Hospital before founding his own company.

2. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari

Managing Director Company: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) Headquarters: Qatar Sector: Hospitals Al Kuwari has been HMC’s managing director since 2007, which runs 12 hospitals across Qatar, as well as the National Ambulance Service and multiple home and residential care services. She also became Qatar’s Minister of Public Health in 2016. She currently chairs, co-chairs, and takes part in several health, research and advisory boards, including the Academic Health System International Advisory Board, the Hamad Healthcare Quality Institute International Advisory Board, and other committees at the Ministry of Public Health. In 2018, she was elected an international member of the U.S.’s National Academy of Medicine.

3. Said Darwazah

Executive Chairman Company: Hikma Pharmaceuticals Regional headquarters: Jordan Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Darwazah was appointed to his current position in 2014, before which he was the CEO of the company. Hikma has a global presence across the U.S., MENA, and Europe. It holds total assets of $4.4 billion and recorded total revenues of $2.6 billion in 2021. For MENA alone, the group closed 2021 with revenues of $847 million, more than 40 newly-launched products, and a branded pipeline of 131 products. Darwazah joined Hikma in 1981, which was first established by his late father. He was chairman and chief executive of Hikma’s group holding company for nine years and served as Minister of Health for Jordan from 2003 to 2006.

4. Nasser Sultan Al-Subaie

CEO and Vice Chairman Company: Mouwasat Medical Services Company Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Hospitals The Mouwasat Medical Services Company has six hospitals and specialized medical centers with 1,200 beds in Saudi Arabia across Dammam, Riyadh, Madinah, Jubail, Qatif, and Khobar. It employs 4,000 people. Established in 1975, the company held assets worth $1 billion and recorded total revenues of $424.3 million for the first nine months of 2021. In mid-2021, the company announced the start of a pilot operation of its new digitalized 200-bed hospital in Al-Madinah Al-Munawar in Saudi Arabia.

5. Hasan Jasem Al Nowais

CEO Company: Mubadala Health Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Diversified Mubadala Health was originally established as Mubadala Healthcare in 2006. It launched as a new company and brand in January 2021, and in the same year acquired UEMedical and Amana Healthcare. The company’s various assets include Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, the Imperial College London Diabetes Center, the National Reference Laboratory, and a number of projects in Saudi Arabia. Al Nowais joined Mubadala in 2007, having previously worked at the private department of H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, EY, and within his family business, the Rotana Hotel Group. He is also the chairman of the Rosewood Abu Dhabi and the Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi, and he sits on the board of the Viceroy Hotel Group.

6. Ayman Tamer

Chairman and Managing Partner Company: Tamer Group Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Tamer Group was first established as a pharmacy in Saudi Arabia in 1922. Today, the group holds multiple businesses, including Tamer Investments, Tamer Logistics, Tamer Industries, Tamer Innovate, AMPC Ltd, and joint venture SAJA, as well as several companies such as IMC, Arabio, Shukoon, United Gulf Health, and IEC. In 2010, the group created SA’AID, which aims to raise health awareness in the community. Tamer also sits on the board of SAJA and is an honorary advisory board member of Effat University. He is a member of the World Economic Forum Family Business Community for the health industry and a member of the Pharma Committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

7. Makarem Sobhi Batterjee

President and Vice-Chairman Company: Saudi German Health (SGH) Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Hospitals Batterjee became the President and Vice-Chairman of MEAHCO in 2017, which is publicly known as Saudi German Health (SGH). The company employs over 8,500 people across 12 hospitals in MENA. It reported assets worth $1.15 billion and revenues of $366.3 million for the first nine months of 2021. The group has seven hospitals under management pipeline in Egypt, Pakistan, and Morocco. In February 2022, SGH in the U.A.E. announced the launch of a new 200-bed hospital in Mirdif valued at $122.5 million. Batterjee has over 20 years of experience in healthcare. He is also the president and vice chairman of the family-owned Bait Al Batterjee Group and co-founder and president of Humania Capital.

8. Shaista Asif

Group COO Company: Pure Health Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Diversified

Pure Health is the U.A.E’s largest healthcare platform, with 28 hospitals and more than 100 clinics across the country. Pure Health owns SEHA, Yas Clinic Group, Tamouh Healthcare, The Medical Office, Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center (ADSCC), ONE Health, Rafed, Daman and Pure Labs, which is one of the biggest network of laboratories in the GCC with over 160 labs. Pure Health has also introduced a number of digital healthcare platforms, including Riayati and Pure Net. Shaista has 17 years of healthcare and technology experience. She previously held roles at Mobilink / Orascom.

9. Patrick van der Loo

Regional President for Africa and the Middle East Company: Pfizer Regional headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Loo has been overseeing U.S.-based Pfizer’s operations across the Middle East and Africa since December 2020. In the same month, the biopharmaceutical researchbased company initiated its BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine distribution in the Middle East. In 2011, Pfizer set up its first manufacturing facility in the GCC in Saudi Arabia. It generated $81.3 billion in global revenues during 2021—a 95.2% increase compared to 2020.

10. Shamsheer Vayalil

Chairman and Managing Director Company: VPS Healthcare Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Hospitals Vayalil founded VPS Healthcare in 2007. The company now has 15 brands, 24 operational hospitals, and over 125 health centers across the Middle East and India. It employs over 15,000 people. In February 2022, VPS announced that it was partnering with surgeon Sultan al Maskari to establish the Maskari Burjeel Orthopedic Centre at the Burjeel Hospital in Muscat, Oman. Vayalil had a net worth of $1.3 billion in 2020, according to Forbes. He is also vice-chairman of Amanat Holdings.

11. Ashish Koshy

CEO Company: G42 healthcare Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Technology G42 Healthcare specializes in innovations around big data and AI solutions, providing next-generation products and services in diagnostics, digital health, therapeutics, and advanced Omics. In April 2020, the company established Biogenix Labs. G42 has partnered with public and private entities, including the U.A.E.’s Ministry of Health and Prevention and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health, as well as a variety of pharma companies, tech entities, and academic institutions. Ashish previously held roles at Reliance Jio and Ooredoo.

12. Sherine Hassan Helmy

CEO Company: Pharco Corporation Headquarters: Egypt Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Established in 1983, Pharco today develops, manufactures, and distributes pharmaceutical products across over 50 countries. It employs more than 8,000 people and has 11 subsidiary companies. Helmy is also a member of the Egyptian Lebanese, Egyptian Saudi, and the Egyptian Senegalese business councils, the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Swiss Egyptian Business Association, and the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Egypt. He also sits on the board of the Egyptian Exporters Association.

13. Georg Schroeckenfuchs

President MEA and Head Gulf and Saudi Country Group Company: Novartis Regional headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Schroeckenfuchs heads Switzerland-based Novartis’s regional hub in Dubai, which manages a $1.3 billion portfolio across 19 countries and employs more than 2,500 people. Novartis uses scientific innovations and technology to advance the pharma industry. Schroeckenfuchs joined Novartis in 2001 and has held roles in Italy, Poland, and Greece.

14. Mohammed Hassan Amin

President and Group CEO Company: Elaj Group Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Hospitals

Amin co-founded the Elaj Group in 1994. The group has a network of hospitals, tertiary care hospitals, laboratories, and medical centers across Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the U.A.E., Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Sudan, Bahrain, Ethiopia, Italy, and the U.K. In late 2020, the Elaj Group and Siemens Healthineers signed a long-term partnership to establish imaging centers within current laboratories in Saudi Arabia. Amin also founded Al-Borg laboratories in early 2000, which has over 60 branches across the GCC and Africa.

15. Thamer Al-Muhaid

Group CEO and Managing Director Company: Saudi Chemical Holding Company Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Pharmaceuticals

The Saudi Chemical Company was established in 1972 as an investment company. It was listed on the Saudi stock market in 2001. Today, it owns and manages five subsidiaries, including SITCO Pharma, AJA Pharma, and the Chemical Commercial Investment Company Ltd . The company reported $707.9 million in revenues for the first nine months of 2021. Al-Muhid has 27 years of experience and previously held roles at SABIC, GE, and Almarai. He also sits on the boards of the Southern Province Cement Company and the Suez International Nitrate Company.

16. Mohsen Mahgoub

Vice Chairman and Managing Director Company: Ibnsina Pharma Headquarters: Egypt Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Established in 2001, Ibnsina Pharma distributes pharmaceutical products from over 350 Egyptian and multinational companies to more than 46,000 pharmacies, hospitals, retail outlets, and wholesalers. The company operates across 59 sites in 23 cities in Egypt and employs more than 5,500 people. In November 2021, the company’s investment arm AIM established logistics service Ramp Logistics with an initial investment of $28 million. Ibnsina Pharma recorded revenues of $1 billion in the first nine months of 2021. Mahgoub is also the chairman of the Arab International Investment Group and sits on the boards of the Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt and Dar El Eyoun Hospital.

17. Ole Per Maloy

CEO for the Middle East and Southern and Eastern Africa Company: Siemens Healthineers Regional headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Medical Devices

Siemens Healthineers provides digital health solutions, medical imaging, electronic products, and healthcare AI software. Globally, the company invested $1.6 billion in research and development in 2021. It operates in more than 70 countries. Per Maloy has over 20 years of experience with the company. He moved into his current role in 2018.

18. Atif Al Braiki

CEO Company: Abu Dhabi Health Data Services (Malaffi) Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Technology Established in 2019 as a public-private partnership between the Department of Health Abu Dhabi and Injazat, Malaffi—a health information exchange platform—stores seven million patient records and has 2,026 facilities. In October 2021, the company announced that it had connected 100% of Abu Dhabi-based hospitals. Al Braiki, who has been CEO of the company since its establishment, is also a member of the International Strategic Advisory Council at AHIMA. He was previously director of strategic projects at Injazat.

19. Ahmed bin Saleh Babaeer

CEO Company: Dallah Healthcare Company Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Diversified Dallah Healthcare Company has seven branches, including the 585-bed Dallah Hospital Al-Nakheel and the Dallah Pharma Factory. In October 2021, Dallah Healthcare acquired 8.2% of the International Medical Centre, valued at $77 million. The company recorded assets worth $1.16 billion and revenues of $407.9 million in the first nine months of 2021. It has more than 2,000 employees. Babaeer became CEO of Dallah Healthcare Company in 2008, having previously served as CEO of the Al Madina Real Estate Company in Riyadh.

20. Hend El Sherbini

Group CEO Company: Integrated Diaognostics Holdings (IDH) Headquarters: Egypt Sector: Laboratories El Sherbini has been CEO of IDH since 2012. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2015. IDH had a network of 481 branch labs serving over seven million patients across Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Nigeria as of December 2020. It recorded assets worth $354.6 million and revenues of $239.3 million in the first nine months of 2021. El Sherbini has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare sector. Before taking her current position, she served as the CEO of Al Mokhtabar for eight years. She also sits on the board of the American Society of Clinical Pathology (Egypt) and consults on the international certification process.

21. Essam Mohammed

CEO Company: Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries (Julphar) Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Julphar was founded in 1980. Today, it operates in more than 50 countries across five continents. It employs 2,500 people. The company recorded $311.4 million in revenues and assets worth $661 million in 2021. Its subsidiaries include MenaCool and Gulf Inject. Mohammed has 27 years of industry experience and previously held roles at El Kendi, MS Pharma, GSK, Sanofi Aventis, T3A Pharma Group, and Julphar Germany.

22. Thumbay Moideen

Founder President Company: Thumbay Group Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Hospitals Moideen founded Thumbay Group in 1998. The diversified international company operates in 20 sectors, including healthcare, medical research, and pharmacy. It has a network of healthcare facilities, including 350-bed Thumbay University Hospital, Thumbay Medical & Dental Specialty Centre, Thumbay Hospital Day Care, Thumbay Dental Hospital, Thumbay Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital, Thumbay Clinic, and Thumbay Clinic ELITE. In 2020, Thumbay University Hospital signed an agreement with Gulf Medical University to implement international-standard academic health centers. In the same year, the hospital announced that it had served four million patients since it was established in 2002.

23. Abdulaziz Saleh Alobaid

CEO Company: National Medical Care Company Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Hospitals The National Medical Care Company encompasses the 325-bedded Riyadh Care Hospital, the 459-bed Care National Hospital, and 170 clinics. The company reported assets of $415.8 million and revenues of $255.4 million in 2021. National Medical Care employs around 3,000 healthcare practitioners, and it offers services including home healthcare, pharmacy, emergency, laboratory, and radiology. Alobaid has over 26 years of experience in the healthcare field. Before taking his current position, he was the chief medical officer at the company. Alobaid was appointed CEO in 2018.

24. Riad Armanious

CEO Company: Eva Pharma Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Pharmaceuticals

EVA Pharma specializes in branded generics, OTC, food supplements, herbal medicines, and veterinary products. The company has six facilities, three in Egypt and one each in Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., and Ethiopia. In 2014, the company established the Eva Biomedical European Development research center in Hungary. Armanious is also a member of the YPO and vice chairman of the Egyptian Industrial Chamber of Pharmaceuticals. Armanious also founded the T20 Foundation, which develops people and programs for social and economic improvement.

25. Tarek Youssef Hosni

CEO Company: Jamjoom Pharma Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Established in 2000, Jamjoom Pharma today develops, manufactures, and distributes pharmaceutical products that are present in over 30 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. The company has three manufacturing facilities and its head office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. International alliances include Senju Pharmaceuticals in Japan, Biothera in the U.S., and Dr. Mann (B&L) in Germany. Hosni has more than 25 years of experience in the pharma industry. He previously held roles at Integrated Pharma Solutions and Pfizer Essential Health.

26. Mohammad Al Hagbani

CEO Company: Tabuk Pharmaceuticals Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Established in 1994, Tabuk Pharmaceuticals is one of the largest privately-owned pharmaceutical companies in Saudi Arabia, with a presence throughout MENA. The company develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes various pharmaceutical products from its four manufacturing sites in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Algeria. It has a production capacity of over two billion base units annually, serving 17 countries. It employs more than 2,400 people. In December 2021, the company signed a partnership agreement with Hansoh Pharma for the exclusive rights to manufacture and commercialize several oncology and specialty products in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern markets.

27. Henrik Wulff

Managing Director, SBR and Head of Pharmaceuticals Company: Bayer Middle East Regional headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Germany-based Bayer has had a presence in the Middle East since the late1880s. The company has legal entities and representations in Cyprus, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. It employs more than 800 people. In January 2022, the Bayer Middle East signed an MOU with the U.A.E.’s Ministry of Health and Prevention to launch a new educational initiative supporting local health authorities in the country. Wulff has been with the company for 20 years. Before taking his current role, he was the managing director and head of pharmaceuticals for Bayer in its Scandinavian markets.

28. Lamia Tazi

Chairwoman and CEO Company: Sothema Headquarters: Morocco Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Sothema has been manufacturing and marketing pharma products since 1976. The company represents 35 international contracting laboratories, including Novartis, Biopharm, Biocon, and Aspen Holding. It employs around 1,000 people, and its six production facilities produce more than 60 million units annually. In June 2021, the company began producing China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. Tazi joined the company in 1997 as executive assistant to the CEO. She was promoted to her current role in 2019. She is also general manager of West Afric Pharma in Senegal, vice president of the Moroccan Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry (FMIIP), and chair of the Omar TAZI Foundation.

29. Ehab Zawaideh

General Manager, Middle East Company: GE Healthcare Regional headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Medical Devices

GE Healthcare is a subsidiary of the multinational General Electric. It provides healthcare technology solutions, including imaging, mobile, diagnostics, and monitoring devices worldwide. The U.A.E. branch has partnered with several public and private health providers, including City Hospital, the Dubai Health Authority, MAF Ventures, and Saha Abu Dhabi. Zawaideh joined the company in 2004. He has more than 25 years of experience in the health sector. Zawaideh previously served as general manager of GE Healthcare in Iraq and as director of sales and marketing before moving into his current position in 2019.

30. Majid Bin Faisal Al Qassimi

Managing Director Company: Gulf Medical Projects Company Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Pharmaceuticals

The Gulf Medical Projects Company was founded in 1979 and has been listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX) since 2005. The company manages hospitals and clinics and oversees health and medical services through its subsidiaries. It reported revenues of $132.5 million in 2021. Al Qassimi has more than 26 years of experience in the healthcare industry, he is also the chairman of Al Majid Investments Group and vice-chairman of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce.

31. Jean-Paul Scheuer

Greater Gulf MCO Lead & Sanofi Genzyme General Manager Company: Sanofi Regional headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Pharmaceuticals

France-based Sanofi’s global portfolio includes 91 development projects across various therapeutic fields. It launched a new vaccine manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia in 2021. The company recorded global revenues of $41.6 billion and assets worth $132.6 billion as of December 2021. Scheuer has around 28 years of industry experience and has been with Sanofi for over 13 years. He was country chair and general manager at Sanofi Gulf for four years before moving into his current role in April 2020, where he now leads 800 employees. He’s also a member of the French Business Council in the U.A.E.

32. Sherif Beshara

CEO Company: American Hospital Dubai Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Hospitals Private healthcare provider American Hospital Dubai was established in 1996 by the Mohamed & Obaid Al Mulla Group. Today, it has 254 beds and multiple clinics across the U.A.E. It joined the Mayo Clinic care network in 2016. The hospital focuses on digital transformation and AI through its partnerships with Oracle, Cerner, and Siemens Healthineers. Beshara is also group CEO for the Mohamed & Obaid Al Mulla Group.

33. Abdelouahed Kerrar

General Manager Company: Biopharm Headquarters: Algeria Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Biopharm has a network of 14 distribution centers, over 150 wholesalers, and over 3,000 pharmacies, delivering nearly 4,000 pharmaceutical products. It reported assets of $514 million and revenues of $265.4 million for the first six months of 2021. In 2021, it launched a new research laboratory and development in Réghaia, Algeria, valued at $1.3 million. The company employs over 2,500 people. Kerrar was appointed to his current position in 2020.

34. Zanubia Shams

Co-Chairperson Company: Zulekha Healthcare Group Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Hospitals Zulekha Daud founded the first Zulekha Hospital in 1992. Today, the group operates a 185-bed hospital in Sharjah, a 140-bed hospital in Dubai, and the Alexis Multispecialty Hospital in India, as well as two U.A.E.-based medical centers and five pharmacies. In 2021, the Zulekha Group introduced homecare services in Dubai and Sharjah. Zanubia co-chairs the group with Taher Shams. She has been responsible for the operations in the U.A.E. and India since 2005.

35. Mohammed Saleh Al Hammadi

Managing Director and CEO Company: Al Hammadi Company for Development and Investment Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Hospitals The Al Hammadi Company for Development and Investment employs 3,245 people and manages four subsidiaries, including the 600-bed Al Hammadi Hospital Al Nuzha, and the 428-bed Al Hammadi Hospital Al Suwaidi. The company recorded assets of $656 million and revenues of $178.5 million in the first nine months of 2021. In late 2021, it acquired 35% of the Sudair Pharmaceuticals Company, valued at $31.5 million.

36. Fatih Mehmet Gul

Vice President U.A.E. & Group Growth Office / CEO of Fakeeh University Hospital Company: Fakeeh Care Group Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Hospitals Fakeeh Care was first established in 1978 and has since launched 13 hospitals, medical centers, and health promotion centers across Saudi Arabia. The Dubai-based Fakeeh University Hospital (FUH) is the group’s first investment outside Saudi Arabia, worth $500 million. In September 2021, FUH partnered with Siemens Healthineers to facilitate an Innovation Think Tank laboratory. Gul has led FUH since 2017. He is also the founder and executive director of the non-profit platform CSR Middle East.

37. Ayman Mokhtar

Head of Middle East, Turkey and Levant Company: Viatris Regional headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Viatris was formed in November 2020 through a merger of Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn. The company employs 500 people In the Middle East, Turkey and Levant. Mokhtar started his 20-year pharmaceutical career as a medical representative. He previously held roles at Pfizer and Upjohn, a division of Pfizer. He co-chairs the healthcare committee AMCHAM Abu Dhabi and the U.S. Kuwait business council. He also sits on the boards of the U.S.-U.A.E. business council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Middle East.

38. Fahad Khater

Owner and Chairman Company: Alameda Healthcare Headquarters: Egypt Sector: Hospitals Alameda Healthcare has six healthcare facilities in Egypt, including As-Salam International Hospital, Dar Al Fouad Hospital, Elixir Gastro Care Center, and the German Rehabilitation Center. In 2021, it announced a $318.8 million group expansion plan to increase capacity to more than 1,000 beds by launching As-Salam International Hospital New Cairo and other facilities across Egypt. In early 2022, the group announced it was partnering with CMR Surgical to provide robotic-assisted surgery. Alameda Healthcare was established in 1999 by Professor Salah Khater and is owned and headed by Fahad Salah Khater.

39. Mohammad Yousef AlZelzelah

CEO Company: Al-Maidan Clinic for Oral Health Services Headquarters: Kuwait Sector: Hospitals Al-Maidan Clinic for Oral Health Services reported assets worth $267.4 million as of December 2021. It owns and operates seven dental centers in Kuwait. The company is a subsidiary of the United Medical Services Company—a member of the KIPCO Group—which reported revenues of $175.9 million for the nine-month period ended December 2021. AlZelzelah was appointed CEO in September 2020.

40. Alaa Adel

Vice President and Managing Director Company: Cerner Middle East and Africa Regional headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Technology U.S.-based healthcare IT data insight company Cerner provides digital solutions to more than 250 facilities across the Middle East. Adel joined Cerner Middle East in 2009 as a sales executive. He has been managing director since 2020 and was additionally appointed vice president in July 2021, leading a team of over 300 people.

41. Ahmed Ezzeldin

CEO Company: Cleopatra Hospitals Group (CHG) Headquarters: Egypt Sector: Hospitals CHG has six hospitals and 789 beds in Egypt, including the Cleopatra Hospital, Cairo Specialized Hospital, the Nile Badrawi Hospital, the Al Shorouk Hospital, the El Katib Hospital, and Queens Hospital. The group reported assets worth $210.2 million and revenues of $121.2 million for the first nine months of 2021. Before joining CHG, Ezzeldin spent 18 years with Merck Sharp & Dohme and worked at Johnson & Johnson. He joined CHG in 2015.

42. Mohamad Hamade

CEO Company: Amanat Holdings Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Hospitals Amanat Holdings’ healthcare portfolio includes Sukoon in Saudi Arabia and the Royal Hospital for Women and Children in Bahrain. In February 2021, the company acquired the Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Center in a $232 million deal. It reported revenues of $112.4 million in 2021. Before joining Amanat, Hamade was the chief investment officer at VPS Healthcare. He joined Amanat Holdings in 2017 as the CIO and was appointed to his current role in 2020.

43. Ahmed Kelani

Chairman and Managing Director Company: Egyptian International Pharmaceutical Industries Company (EIPICO) Headquarters: Egypt Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Established in 1980, EIPICO is a publiclylisted pharmaceuticals company that exports to Arab, African, Asian, and Eastern European countries. The company has five factories in Egypt and one in Saudi Arabia. EIPICO reported revenues of $215.8 million in 2021. Kelani has more than 45 years of industry experience. Previously he served as the chairman and CEO of Medical Union Pharmaceuticals, and he sat on the boards of Mepaco and the Arab Company for Pharmaceutical Glass.

44. Khalid Mohammed Al-Emadi

Group CEO Company: Medicare Group Headquarters: Qatar Sector: Hospitals Medicare Group was founded in 1996 and listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange in 1997. The company establishes specialty hospitals and outpatient clinics, as well as medical and healthcare projects such as Hemya, Re’aya, Enaya, and Al-Ahli Hospital Clinic. The company reported operating income of $132.2 million in 2021.

45. Ashraf Mallak

Managing Director - GCC Company: Merck & Co (MSD) Regional headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Established in 1891, MSD is a research biopharmaceutical company that develops solutions for vaccines, oncology, infectious diseases, and cardio-metabolic diseases. In 2021, MSD put $12.2 billion into global R&D. Mallak has been with MSD for nearly 20 years, where he currently oversees six GCC countries.

46. Mana Bin Mansour Almana

Group CEO Company: Almana Group of Hospitals Headquarters: Saudi Arabia Sector: Hospitals The Almana Group provides medical care and services across eight medical facilities with 1,106 beds in Saudi Arabia. In March 2021, the company announced the opening of the Almana Medical Tower at the Almana General Hospital in Jubail and the launch of a new laboratory, the Central Laboratory Almana General Hospital in Al-Khobar. The group employs over 6,500 people. Almana started at the group as head of the human resources department in 2007 and was appointed to his current role in 2018.

47. Guido Sander

General Manager for the Middle East Company: Roche Diaognostics Regional headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Pharmaceuticals

Switzerland-based Roche provides pharma and diagnostic solutions. In 2021, it was rated one of the most sustainable companies in the pharmaceutical index of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. In the Middle East it operates in 16 countries and employs 400 people. Sander has been with Roche for the last 20 years, having started in 2002 as a strategic project manager in Germany. He assumed his current role in September 2021.

48. Raza Siddiqui

CEO Company: Arabian Healthcare Group (AHG) Headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Hospitals AHG manages and operates Rak Hospital in partnership with Sonnenhof Swiss Health. In early 2022, AHG announced a collaboration with CommonSpirit Health to triple the capacity of RAK Hospital to become a 200-bed facility by 2024. Siddiqui has over 30 years of experience. He was previously director of international operations for the Apollo Group of Hospitals in India. In 2020, he was appointed as a founding board member of UNDRR and ARISE.

49. Vincenzo Ventricelli

CEO - Middle East, Turkey & Africa Company: Phillips Healthcare Regional headquarters: U.A.E. Sector: Medical Devices

Netherlands-based Philips Healthcare specializes in advanced medical devices and solutions embedding AI and data science. In 2021, the company spent $2 billion on global research and development. Philips Middle East operates in 15 countries across the region. Ventricelli has been with the company for over 26 years. In June 2021, Philips and du signed an MoU to collaboratively accelerate the datadriven transformation of healthcare in the U.A.E.

50. Farah Hamdan

General Manager Middle East, North Africa & Turkey Company: Zimmer Biomet Regional headquarters: Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Lebanon & Turkey Sector: Medical Devices

U.S-based Zimmer Biomet provides technology, surgical robotics, and implants to hospitals, clinics, and other health entities. It has 31 global offices. The company opened its commercial office in Dubai in January 2022. Hamdan has 17 years of healthcare experience. She has previously held roles at Novartis, Abbott, Medtronics, and BD.

At the World Government Summit 2022, held at Expo 2020 Dubai at the end of March, Forbes hosted a number of panel discussions featuring a cohort from its Under 30 community.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, meets with a group of entrepreneurs and innovators from the Forbes 30 Under 30 community.

UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, His Excellency Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, speaking at the opening of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Forum.

By Fouzia Azzab

• FORBES LIFE •

5 Natural Wellness Destinations In MENA

Medical tourism in the Middle East and Africa is expected to be worth $1.35 billion by 2026 compared to $900 million in 2021, according to Market Data Forecast. Here are five of the most popular places for natural medical tourism in the region.

Mbazzarah Al Khadra U.A.E.

Mbazzarah Al Khadra comprises a group of reefs located in a valley adjacent to the Jebel Hafeet mountain in Al Ain. The area features 26 wells, including hot sulfur wells that have been opened for tourists. The springs have been turned into shallow channels, ideal for dipping your feet and enjoying the healthy benefits of the hot springs. The temperature of the water ranges from 36.5 to 51.4 degrees Celsius. Its high temperature and high content of minerals can be used to treat joint and rheumatic diseases if you stay submerged for some time.

Jazan Hot Springs Saudi Arabia

The Jazan region, located on the coast of the Red Sea in the southwest of Saudi Arabia, is characterized by its white sandy beaches, coral reefs, and green highlands. According to the Saudi Press Agency, tourism spending in Jazan reached $746.7 million annually. The area currently has more than 63 hotels and 2,891 hotel rooms. Famous for their waterfalls, the mountains of Jazan house more than 25 valleys and hot springs. These springs contain chemical elements such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, silicon, and stanthium, which help in treating skin and rheumatic diseases and are free of toxic elements.

Siwa Oasis Egypt

Located in the heart of the Western Desert of Egypt, 820km southwest of Cairo, the Siwa Oasis is known for its hot white sand and dry climate throughout the year. The oasis has both normal and sulfur hot springs. A special type of mud can be mixed with this water and is used in the treatment of many skin and respiratory diseases. According to Egypt’s State Information Service, sand from the Dakrour Mountain in Siwa contains radiation that helps treat rheumatism, poliomyelitis, psoriasis and the digestive system. Tourists flock to it for sand burial treatments during July and August.

Dead Sea Jordan

The Dead Sea has the lowest land-based elevation on Earth. It is located 420 meters below sea level, and attracts visitors seeking recreational treatments and healing. Its mud is rich with minerals, and its water, which is famous for its salinity, contains 29% salts and minerals, including magnesium, sodium, potassium, and bromine. The area, with its year-round sunny weather, low humidity and dry air, is also said to help relieve symptoms of asthma, cystic fibrosis, and some lung diseases.

Merzouga Morocco

Merzouga is a small desert town in eastern Morocco, and is home to sand dunes, palm plantations, excursions and paths, making it a popular tourist attraction and healing retreat. The town is famous for its sand baths, which are known for curing skin diseases, rheumatism, and spine and muscle stiffness. The healing process includes burying the patient in the middle layer of the earth under the surface of the sand, for six to 12 hours, depending on the type and severity of the disease. However, sand baths are prohibited for some medical conditions, such as heart and respiratory diseases and diabetes.

• THOUGHTS ON •

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” —Mahatma Gandhi

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” —Benjamin Franklin

“Good health is not something we can buy. However, it can be an extremely valuable savings account.” —Anne Wilson Schaef

“You’re in pretty good shape for the shape you are in.” —Dr. Seuss

“Your body hears everything your mind says.” —Naomi Judd

“A healthy attitude is contagious but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.” —Tom Stoppard

“There’s nothing more important than our good health - that’s our principal capital asset.” Arlen Specter

Health

Oprah Winfrey

Benjamin Franklin

“Being in control of your life and having realistic expectations about your day-to-day challenges are the keys to stress management, which is perhaps the most important ingredient to living a happy, healthy and rewarding life.” —Marilu Henner “Don’t ask for a million dollars. Ask for the stuff that’ll get you a million dollars - your health, your brain, your sanity, wisdom. Prepare me for when I do get that million. Make sure I don’t go crazy, make sure I help my family.” —Future “Use your health, even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; do not outlive yourself.” —George Bernard Shaw

“My body is like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don’t think about it, I just have it.” Arnold Schwarzenegger

Ingrid Bergman “Happiness is good health and a bad memory.” —Ingrid Bergman

“With age comes the understanding and appreciation of your most important asset, your health.” —Oprah Winfrey

“I’ll tell you what I’m grateful for, and that’s the clarity of understanding that the most important things in life are health, family and friends, and the time to spend on them.” —Kenneth Branagh

“Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.” —Buddha

Ajlan & Bros Holding Group Abilitii is one of the Ajlan & Bros Holding Group Abilitii is one of the largest private sector conglomerates in the Middle East region, employing over 12,500 people in more Ajlan & Bros Holding Group Abilitii is one of the largest private sector conglomerates in the Middle East region, employing over 12,500 people in more Ajlan & Bros Holding Group Abilitii is one of the largest private sector conglomerates in the Middle East region, employing over 12,500 people in more largest private sector conglomerates in the Middle East region, employing over 12,500 people in more than 25 countries and across 75 companies. Ajlan & Bros Holding Group Abilitii is one of the largest private sector conglomerates in the Middle East region, employing over 12,500 people in more than 25 countries and across 75 companies. than 25 countries and across 75 companies. than 25 countries and across 75 companies. than 25 countries and across 75 companies.

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Saudi Aramco

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Jubail 3B

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SAGO MC2

Acquisition of Saudi Flour Milling Company (MC2) for US$ 600 Million. MC2 has three SAGO MC2 Acquisition of Saudi Flour Milling Company (MC2) for US$ 600 Million. MC2 has three branches in Riyadh, Hail and Jizan. SAGO MC2 Acquisition of Saudi Flour Milling Company (MC2) for US$ 600 Million. MC2 has three SAGO MC2Acquisition of Saudi Flour Milling Company (MC2) for US$ 600 Million. MC2 has three branches in Riyadh, Hail and Jizan. It has a production capacity of 1.3 Acquisition of Saudi Flour Milling Company (MC2) for US$ 600 Million. MC2 has three SAGO MC2 branches in Riyadh, Hail and Jizan. It has a production capacity of 1.3 branches in Riyadh, Hail and Jizan. million tons per year for flour, branches in Riyadh, Hail and Jizan. It has a production capacity of 1.3million tons per year for flour, It has a production capacity of 180,000 tons for fodder, and It has a production capacity of 1.3 1.3 million tons per year for flour, 180,000 tons for fodder, and million tons per year for flour, 190,000 tons for silos. million tons per year for flour, 180,000 tons for fodder, and 190,000 tons for silos.180,000 tons for fodder, and 180,000 tons for fodder, and 190,000 tons for silos.190,000 tons for silos.190,000 tons for silos.

NIDLPCommitment to invest NIDLPNIDLP Commitment to invest US$ 13 Billion with the National NIDLP NIDLP Commitment to invest US$ 13 Billion with the National Commitment to invest Industrial Development and Commitment to invest US$ 13 Billion with the National Industrial Development and US$ 13 Billion with the National Logistics Program (NIDLP) over US$ 13 Billion with the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) over Industrial Development and the next ten years for the Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) over the next ten years for the exploration of gold, nickel, copper, lithium, iron, zirconium, cobalt, and tinstone in the Kingdom of Saudi the next ten years for the exploration of gold, nickel, copper, lithium, iron, zirconium, cobalt, and tinstone in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Logistics Program (NIDLP) over the next ten years for the exploration of gold, nickel, copper, lithium, iron, zirconium, cobalt, and tinstone in the Kingdom of Saudi exploration of gold, nickel, copper, lithium, iron, zirconium, cobalt, and tinstone in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Logistics Program (NIDLP) over the next ten years for the exploration of gold, nickel, copper, lithium, iron, zirconium, cobalt, and tinstone in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Arabia.Arabia.