Two rankings spotlight the region’s leading healthcare founders and executives
- UAE-based leaders dominate the two lists, accounting for 50% of all entries, with 75, followed by Saudi Arabia with 40 and Egypt with 14.
- Shaista Asif, Cofounder and Group CEO of PureHealth, tops the Founders list, while Nasser Al Huqbani, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Health Holding Company, leads the Executives list.
Dubai, UAE – September 15, 2026: Forbes Middle East has revealed its flagship annual rankings of the region’s Top Healthcare Leaders for 2026, through two rankings. The first recognizes 50 founders redefining the Middle East’s healthcare ecosystem, while the second highlights the 100 executives leading its largest and most influential healthcare organizations.
To curate the two rankings, Forbes Middle East evaluated several factors, including the size of the company, the impact of the leader and the company on the region’s healthcare sector, innovations, initiatives, and achievements in 2025 and 2026, the experience of the leader in the sector, diversity of operations, level of transparency, sustainability and CSR initiatives, and ownership percentage in the company for the founders list, among others.
Topping the founders list is Shaista Asif, Cofounder and Group CEO of UAE-based PureHealth. Saudi billionaire Sulaiman Al Habib, Group Founder and Chairman of Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group (HMG), ranked second, while the Indian billionaire Azad Moopen, Founder, Chairman, and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare, ranked third.
In the Executives list, Nasser Al Huqbani, the CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Health Holding Company (HHC), ranked first. Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Managing Director of Qatar’s Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), placed second. While Saeed Jaber Al Kuwaiti, Group CEO of SEHA, ranked third.
The UAE-based leaders represent half of the 150 entries across the Founders and Executives lists, totaling 75, while Saudi Arabia contributes 40 and Egypt 14.
By sector, hospital leaders take the top spot with 44 entries, followed closely by pharmaceutical leaders with 43 and integrated healthcare leaders with 14.
From major structural reforms to clinical breakthroughs, regional healthcare scaled up rapidly in 2026. Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s Health Holding Company implemented one of the world’s largest healthcare transformations, transferring 10 health clusters and 130,000 employees from the Ministry of Health. Simultaneously, the UAE’s M42 initiated the nation’s first genomics-driven clinical trial alongside the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) and Halia Therapeutics; while Qatar’s Hamad Medical Corporation introduced its first robotic Whipple surgery.
Top Healthcare Leaders In The Middle East 2026
FOUNDERS
- Shaista Asif
Cofounder & Group CEO, PureHealth
Sector: Integrated
Residence: UAE
- Sulaiman Al Habib
Group Founder & Chairman, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group (HMG)
Sector: Hospitals
Residence: Saudi Arabia
- Azad Moopen
Founder, Chairman & Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare
Sector: Integrated
Residence: UAE
- Shamsheer Vayalil
Founder, Chairman & CEO, Burjeel Holdings
Sector: Diversified
Residence: UAE
- Said Darwazah
CEO, Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Sector: Pharmaceuticals
Residence: Jordan
To view the complete Middle East’s Top Healthcare Leaders 2026 – FOUNDERS list, click here.
Top Healthcare Leaders In The Middle East 2026
EXECUTIVES
- Nasser Al Huqbani
CEO, Health Holding Company (HHC)
Sector: Integrated
Residence: Saudi Arabia
- Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Suwaidi
Managing Director, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)
Sector: Integrated
Residence: Qatar
- Saeed Jaber Al Kuwaiti
Group CEO, SEHA
Sector: Hospitals
Residence: UAE
- Majid Alfayyadh
Group CEO, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSH)
Sector: Hospitals
Residence: Saudi Arabia
- Faisal Al Nassar
Group CEO & President, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group (HMG)
Sector: Hospitals
Residence: Saudi Arabia
To view the complete Middle East’s Top Healthcare Leaders 2026 – EXECUTIVES list, click here.
About Forbes Middle East
Forbes Middle East is a licensed edition of Forbes for the Arab world, championing inspiring business journalism and entrepreneurial capitalism. Its online and social platforms break news covering billionaires, business, investment, technology, economy, entrepreneurship, leadership, and luxury lifestyles. The monthly magazine, featuring in-depth interviews with the Middle East’s most influential and innovative leaders, is published in print in English and Arabic, with digital versions available to both regional and global audiences online. Forbes Middle East extends the Forbes brand of journalism across the Arab world, conducting its own comprehensive research to publish original lists that adhere to strict methodologies. Its content attracts business leaders, investors, active and potential entrepreneurs, and a wide audience of ambitious and influential executives.
Media contact: Basma Aly Sadek – basma@forbesmiddleeast.com
Arab News 24/7 