More than the challenge that immense responsibility brought on him, it was the pressure of living up to the expectations of family, friends and colleagues that kept Akbar Moideen up and working overtime.
Heading the Healthcare Division of the Thumbay Group, Akbar oversees the operations of Thumbay Hospitals, Day Cares and Clinics in Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and India, as well as Thumbay Labs and Thumbay Medical Tourism.
Additionally he is also in-charge of the retail and trading divisions of the Group which includes Thumbay Pharmacy, Zo & Mo Opticals, Nutri Plus Vita stores, The Flower Shoppe, Thumbay Marketing & Distribution Company.
To stay ahead of competition Akbar had to quickly master the intricacies of the business as it was a rapidly evolving industry.
Time and again he had to re-invent and adopt new innovations for which he recounts having spent long hours after work to research on introducing new elements across the company’s chain of businesses.
It also proved to be a daunting task to recruit well-experienced doctors and team members who were aligned to Akbar’s ideas and concepts.
Following the footsteps of two highly accomplished entrepreneurs, his father and grandfather, Akbar was quite young when he ventured into the family business.
He had to constantly think out of the box and face delicate situations when convincing team members who are highly experienced, to take challenging decisions.
Today, his perseverance has borne fruit as is seen in the Group’s rapid progress towards realizing the vision of the Founder President.
Honored as ‘Champion of Change’ at the 7th Annual MENA HR Excellence Awards in recognition of his leadership, Akbar Moideen was featured among the twenty five young Business Leaders in UAE, profiled in a coffee table book GEN NEXT INDIANS, published by Exponent Media, Dubai.
Akbar was inducted into the Alumni Wall of Fame of his alma mater, the American University of Sharjah (AUS). He had earlier received the award for Best Medical Tourism Hospital in the Middle East by the New Economy in 2013.
The Growing Years
Hailing from the coastal city of Mangalore in India, Akbar completed his secondary education at The Lawrence School, Lovedale in Ooty and when he turned 15, moved to the UAE along with his mother Zohra Moideen and brother Akram Moideen to join his father Thumbay Moideen, the founder of the Thumbay Group.
He finished his schooling at the International School of Choueifat, UAE and graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the American University of Sharjah.
His commitment towards the family business saw him pursuing his post-graduation in Hospital Management from SDA Boccioni School of Management, Milan, Italy.
On completing his management studies, he interned at a leading New York based consultancy where he gained commendable knowledge in healthcare, insurance coverage and lifestyle management principles.
Later, he joined his father’s business at the Thumbay Group of companies and started off with the online initiatives of the company as his first business assignment.
Akbar was mentored by his father, Dr. Thumbay Moideen throughout his business endeavors. He encouraged Akbar to envision his dream and follow his aspirations, inspiring him to take brave challenges and face hardships during the start of his career itself.
On earnestly fulfilling his duties, his father bestowed upon him additional responsibilities. It not only helped Akbar develop his business acumen, but also gave him a holistic view of the family business.
He also fondly remembers his childhood days when he got an insight into the business world by accompanying his grandfather on his office visits and seeing him meticulously go about his work.
Ahamed Hajee Mohiudeen was the Founder and Chairman of the renowned BA Group in Mangalore, India and he nurtured in young Akbar a business acumen and an understanding of the essentials of business.
The Thumbay Group of Companies
The Thumbay Group is a large multinational conglomerate that has seven divisions covering 20 sectors of diversified businesses.
Its operations extends across varied industries including Education, Healthcare, Medical Research, Diagnostics, Pharmacy, Health Communication, Opticals, Wellness, Medical Tourism, Technology, Hospitality, Real Estate, Publishing, Trading, to name a few.
The Group is involved in several CSR and philanthropic activities. Across its hospitals, the company conducts a number of health camps that facilitates free consultation, free medicines and diagnostic care to the needy. Beyond that, the Thumbay Foundation supports the underprivileged for medical treatment, education, etc.
The Group is driven by its motto ‘Affordable healthcare to the masses’ and steadfastly stands by it. According to the vision of its Founder President, the healthcare division of the Group proposes to add 1000 beds in UAE, 1500 beds in India and 750 beds in Middle East & Africa. This will be accompanied by the establishment of several clinics, within a span of the next 5 years.
At the moment, multiple hospital projects are under construction, including the new 500 bed tertiary care hospital in Ajman, along with hospitals in Sharjah, Doha and other parts of the world.
The company aims to have over 1000 medical tourists a day across its extensive healthcare network within the same timeframe.
While, the retail division plans to rapidly expand to launch 300 retail outlets within the next five years.
Akbar strongly believes that an organization thrives on the combined efforts of its workforce which notably contributed towards Thumbay Group’s success.
The team members across the organization are highly experienced field experts as well as innovative thinkers. As the Group’s activities expanded globally, its workforce has also increased tremendously.
Akbar has rightly channelized the organization’s functioning capabilities in order to develop talents and ensure management continuity throughout its systems.
Work Life Balance
Akbar feels blessed to be married to Nousheen Salma, who is helping the Thumbay Group in many ways.
She is the editorial & design advisor of the popular HEALTH magazine and the person behind The Flower Shoppe, a young and innovate brand of Thumbay Group’s retail division.
The couple have three wonderful sons, Ahmed Akbar Thumbay, Omar Akbar Thumbay and Rashid Akbar Thumbay.
The family try and spend as much time together as possible in the midst of Akbar’s busy schedule, as apart from his professional pursuits, Akbar is also actively interested in driving, indoor sports and traveling to global destinations.
The family’s affinity to sports is evident in its ownership of the Cricket Team ‘Thumbay Kasargod Leopards’ at KCL, UAE.
Though he has been fortunate to have a solid foundation built by his father, his challenge in life has been to live up to the expectations of his father and then grow the business into new avenues and territories.
While it was his father who instilled in Akbar the trait of determination and perseverance, he was also highly influenced by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for his exemplary governance and for making seemingly impossible things possible on a grand scale.
Another role model for Akbar is Warren Buffet, who created an empire form almost nothing and proved to the world that foresight and good judgment will prove fruitful in the long run, however impossible it may seem at first Akbar’s deep understanding of business fundamentals and the basics of life has made him a sought after speaker at related conferences and seminars held in the Middle East and Europe which includes ‘International Medical Travel Exhibition and Conference’ held in Oman in April 2013 and at the ‘Borderlines in Healthcare’ event held in May 2014 in Austria.
He was speaker addressing young business leaders and entrepreneurs at Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government for the Leadership & Entrepreneurship Series 2016 and AUS Enterprising Youth Forum at the American University of Sharjah in April 2016. He was a keynote speaker at the Harvard Crossroads Summer Program in Dubai in August 2017.
He has also been a Panelist for the Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Capacity-Building of the Youth in the UAE Forum at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry as well panelist in multiple healthcare, medical tourism and insurance conferences.
Today Akbar advises his fellow next-gen entrepreneurs that there are no real shortcuts to success and no substitute for hard work.
But he calls upon all to always dream big and remain determined even in the face of setbacks, as only those who have gone through repeated setbacks and have come through it would prevail in the long run.
He feels that short term success is not too difficult for most people and that the real test is in facing tough situations and then having to rebuild a business all over again.