Sunny Varkey

An entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience in the private education sector, Sunny Varkey chairs GEMS Education, a collection of leading primary and secondary schools around the globe. Raised in Dubai by his Indian expatriate family, Sunny Varkey discovered the transformative power of a high-quality education through his parents’ efforts as teachers and founders of Our Own English High School. With lessons steeped in the curriculum of India’s Central Board of Education, the Varkeys’ school offered children of fellow expatriates and Emirati unique opportunities to prepare for admission to some of the top universities in the English-speaking world.

Following his parents’ retirement in 1980, Sunny Varkey took over control of Our Own English High School and ushered in a new era of expansion for the school and its educational model. To this end, Mr. Varkey opened a series of new schools in the Emirates and beyond, offering the full spectrum of pre-K, primary, and secondary curricula designed for success on the General Certificate of Education, International Baccalaureate, and Indian secondary school examinations. Today, these schools are organized under GEMS Education, which consists of top-ranked private academies in the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the United States.

From the beginning, Sunny Varkey has pursued a vision at GEMS that values educational quality and accessibility above all else. In addition to its private schools, GEMS consults with public schools on measures to improve school performance and sponsors free education and teacher training in rural and underserved communities throughout the developing world. To learn more about Mr. Varkey and his work at GEMS, please visit www.gemseducation.com.http://www.gemseducation.com