Dubai: The Abu Dhabi-headquartered NMC Healthcare has confirmed a full-time CEO in David Hadley. He will take over from Mark Adams, a financial expert with over 40 years of experience across Europe and GCC, who had been appointed as the interim CEO earlier this year by the ADCB-led board.
Hadley has been the CEO of Mediclinic Middle East for the past 13 years.
His appointment comes as NMC - one of the biggest operators of hospitals and clinics in the UAE - works on its turnaround story and become ever more of an attraction for potential investors to buy it within three years.
He is expected to join NMC in early 2023.
Kevin Taylor, Chairman of NMC’s Board, said “David is a seasoned leader with significant healthcare experience and a CEO with a strong track record of delivering value to shareholders. We are delighted to have him as our next CEO.”
Hadley added: “Whilst I am sad to leave Mediclinic after a very happy and fulfilling 30 years, I am very excited to join NMC as it enters a new phase following a challenging few years. NMC is a remarkable world-class company with deep commitment toward our communities, partners, and regulators. It is my intention to ensure that NMC’s patients continue to receive the high quality care that sets us apart from others. I look forward to working with NMC management, staff, and shareholders to deliver on this.”
The appointment comes as ADCB exerts influence from being the most exposed financially to the diversion of funds that took place at NMC until late 2019. It was earlier this year that NMC emerged from being under administration for more than two years, with the stated intent of finding a new buyer before 2025.
Distancing from the BR Shetty era
The latest outcome puts more distance between NMC and its founder, B.R. Shetty, who had launched the enterprise in the mid-1970s. It was in early 2020 that NMC - at the time the UAE’s biggest private healthcare operator and listed on FTSE - got embroiled in the financial scandal that resulted in the then management exiting the country.
It was ADCB who filed a motion in 2020 with the UK courts for NMC to be placed under administration. In April that year, the court ruled in favour, and Alvarez & Marsal, a specialist consultancy, was brought in to oversee what could be done to save NMC.
Fortunately, for the company and its lenders and creditors, the healthcare operations remained operationally sound, and the company made a solid recovery during 2020-21, even with the many distractions caused by Covid.
Finally, the majority of lenders-creditors ruled in favour of the company being readied for a sale in 2-3 years’ time. The CEO during those two years, Michael Davis, later on stepped down.
Now, with Hadley, a new chapter begins for NMC.
Davis stepped down from the CEO role in early July this year.
