Ahead of the curve

Alisha Moopen is inspired by a dream to see a future where everyone has access to quality and affordable healthcare services

A mother of two, Alisha is passionate about yoga, championing gender equality and giving back to society.
Alisha Moopen, Executive Director and CEO of Hospitals and Clinics GCC, Aster DM Healthcare, has been leading the company's growth trajectory for the past three years. Coming from a conservative Muslim family of three girls, she had to fight her share of battles to prove herself to her extended family. In her career in a largely male-dominated industry, she had to quell any insecurities that she had about often being the only female in the boardroom. Soon she learnt to trust her abilities and her decision-making skills.
"I studied and worked hard and proved to myself and others that I have the ability to lead a multinational conglomerate while being able to give back to society. I see my life as an opportunity to leave this world a better place for future generations. I am also an avid reader and I believe that reading expands your mind and plays a pivotal role in achieving success - in anything you do," she says in an interview with Khaleej Times.
Alisha accepts the power of teams that work together constructively to get things done. "That is an art and that is the power of synergy. I believe one of my key strengths is to put people together and help drive the change more collectively than individually," she notes.
There are three secrets to success, Alisha affirms, "Hard work is a given. Without the discipline that is required to turn your wishes, dreams and intentions to action, all the strategy and dreams to change the world are pointless. You have to be the change you want to see in the world and it is absolutely necessary to translate that thought into action through putting everything you have got to make your dreams come true."
Secondly, she admits that failures are pivots. "It is hard to not get bogged down by mistakes or by things not going according to plan. This is essential for learning, growing and evolving. Learning from mistakes and applying those learnings and moving forward is critical to success."
Finally, she adds, "Only do what makes you absolutely thrilled to wake up in the morning and go to work. Do justice to your job and make sure you are immensely passionate and in love with your career and your job."
Also, Alisha accepts the power that one has to make changes constantly. "Human beings have made amazing advancements in technology, but at the same time we continue to take our health for granted. Healthcare has moved from being infectious diseases to lifestyle disorders," she explains.
In fact, her own life experiences have changed her. "Every experience and incident is a learning curve. We have to understand the causal effect of each positive and negative event in our life. It is extremely important to reflect on the patterns in our life and learn the lessons from that. Everything from my son's accident, to business highs and lows, to feedback from patients that are positive and negative, to the success of colleagues, to being confronted with people who are frauds inside and outside the system, are all important milestones which contributed to my growth," she concludes.
Alisha's mantra
- Be collaborative, not individualistic.
- Be disruptive in technology, not destructive.
- Be kind, caring and focused on the three Ps - People. Planet. Profits.
- suchitra@khaleejtimes.com

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