WHO IS PRASANTH MANGHAT?
A chartered accountant by profession, Prasanth Manghat’s move up the corporate ladder at NMC Health was quite the leap. He came on board during a difficult transition period when the reins of the company’s day-to-day operations changed hands from its founder, Dr. Shetty, to someone outside of the family.
During his five years, he built up NMC Health’s strengths in the UAE market, through acquisitions that included speciality health services providers. A big buy was the Al Zahra Hospital, for just over Dh2 billion, in December 2016.
But the peak point was the financial results of 2018, when revenues went past $2 billion and net profit came to $251.9 million — both records for the company.
And it was during his time as CEO that “NMC became the first Middle Eastern company to feature on the FTSE 100 with a market capitalisation of over $8 billion,” according to the company’s website.
“Prasanth Manghat turned NMC Health into a powerhouse performer in the region’s health care sector, and he did so without burning up cash and with a pile of debt,” said a banker who has known him through Manghat’s 15-year stint at NMC in multiple capacities.
“It’s unfortunate that NMC Health chose to let him go — the way I see it he cannot be held responsible for any legacy issues at the company and which might have preceded his taking over as CEO.”
Manghat had held titles of Deputy CEO and CFO at NMC, and was also CFO at Neopharma, another company in Dr. Shetty’s portfolio. (Manghat owns a hospital — Avitis — in the South Indian state of Kerala, along with his brother and other family members.)