Icons of Influence Sunny Varkey Chairperson, GEMS Education Sunny Varkey, the son of Indian expat teachers who migrated to Dubai in 1959, has transformed the landscape of private education in the GCC. From humble beginnings with a single school, Varkey expanded UAE-based GEMS Education into the world’s largest K-12 private education provider, operating more than 250 schools across 13 countries. Under his leadership, GEMS Education secured CVC Capital Partners as a key investor in 2019, solidifying its financial foundation and supporting further growth. The company is now led by his sons, Dino and Jay Varkey, who serve as CEO and Group Executive Director, respectively, ensuring the family’s legacy continues. Additionally, Sunil Munjal, a member of the prominent Indian Munjal clan, holds a minority stake in the company, reflecting its broad appeal and robust investment potential. Related Stories Founder of Dubai-based GEMS mulls stake sale in school operator Dubai’s GEMS says JV completes acquisition of Saudi’s largest education company Revealed: Influential Indians in the GCC: Rich list Revealed: Winners at the Gulf Business Awards 2016 Varkey Foundation announces Global Teacher Prize finalists Exclusive Interview: GEMS Chairman Sunny Varkey Talks Profits And Philanthropy You might also like Sunil John Dr. Thumbay Moideen Vidya Chhabria Mohan Valrani K. Rajaram Dr. Adnan Chilwan Sanjiv Kakkar Ram Kumar Thota Raghu Malhotra Sunil Kaushal Atif Rahman Amit Jain Rishi Kapoor Vasu Shroff Anil Pillai Bal Krishen Rohit and Sharad Bachani Raju Ramesh and Sunil Paul Ayesha Depala John Paul Joy Alukkas Geet Bhalla and Digvijay Pratap Snehal and Sunita Hadani Nisha Jagtiani Kunal Kapoor Dino Varkey Ashish Panjabi Joy Alukkas Yogesh Mehta Yusuff Ali M.A. Ravi Pillai Micky Jagtiani Sunny Varkey Sunil Vaswani Shamsheer Vayalil Firoz Merchant Rajen Kilachand Azad Moopen Tony Jashanmal Paras Shahdadpuri Dr. Zulekha Daud Adeeb Ahamed Dhananjay Datar Rizwan Sajan PNC Menon Sima Ved Shaji Ul Mulk Ramesh Prabhakar L.T. Pagarani Ram Buxani Surender Kandhari Sohan Roy Shyam Bhatia