Business News

UAE’s NMC changes its Board of Directors completely

Dubai: Failsal Belhoul who had served as Executive Chairman at NMC Health for two weeks is not part of the newly constituted Board of Directors. The changes were brought in by the UK Court appointed administrators. Belhoul had taken over that position after his fund picked up 9 per cent in NMC, the UAE’s largest hospital operator.

Also no longer part of the Board are Ayesha Mohammed, Jonathan Bomford, Patrick James Meade, Salma Ali Saif Bin Hareb and Tarek Alnabulsi.

According to Richard Fleming, Joint Administrator of NMC Health PLC, “We formed a new Board with extensive restructuring experience to ensure more robust standards of governance in NMC Health.

“The Board has already met to begin the detailed work necessary to create the governance platform in the Group supporting real stability for NMC’s operating businesses.

“Our immediate focus is also to work with the management teams in the operating companies to ensure that NMC’s doctors, nurses and care workers have everything they need, every day, as they work tirelessly to ensure continuity of care for patients, which is especially important as the world fights the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Fleming is on of three administrators appointed by the UK court following an appeal filed by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank for NMC to come under joint administration.

Fleming is one of three administrators appointed by the UK court following an appeal filed by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank for NMC to come under joint administration. The three were handpicked from Alvarez & Marsal Europe.

Sweeping powers

It was on April 9 that NMC was placed under the UK Court’s supervisory oversight. (The UK legal system came into effect because NMC had listed on London Stock Exchange in 2012.)

The administrators have to come up with ways by which NMC remains operational and at the same time find the ways and means to pay back more than $6.6 billion in bank loans.

Interestingly, Michael Davis, the Interim CEO and Chief Operating Officer, does not have a seat on the Board.

Simon Watkins remains Group Company Secretary, while Nirman Shetty, Chief Operating Officer – Distribution has left the business.

Who comes in?
The Administrators appointed four new non-executive directors with “broad international restructuring experience” to oversee the work with the management teams in the individual NMC businesses.
They are:
* Eli Chahin has more than 25 years of experience specialising in banking, management consulting and specifically financial restructurings across Europe and the Middle East. He has held various senior roles with ANZ Bank, Standard Chartered and AlixPartners.

* Christopher Hall has worked in international business and the law for more than 30 years. He is the Managing Partner of Oxford Investment Consultants, an advisory firm that identifies and invests in technology companies being spun out of UK universities. He was previously a Senior Partner at KPMG and headed the firm’s restructuring practice in Australia.

* Philip Gore-Randall is a former global COO of Arthur Andersen. He now chairs and advises several international groups including a leading forensic accounting firm, a healthcare services provider in Hong Kong and several businesses with significant operations in the Middle East.