Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil

Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, a Kerala-born radiologist, started with a single hospital in 2007 and built it into VPS Healthcare, one of the Gulf’s major private hospital operators. Its assets were brought together under Burjeel Holdings, anchored by the flagship Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi, with a network that has grown to around twenty hospitals within more than a hundred healthcare facilities across the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Burjeel Holdings listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in October 2022 in a heavily oversubscribed IPO, and the group has announced plans for significant expansion in Saudi Arabia. Vayalil, who chairs the company and took on an additional chief-executive role in 2026, was recognised with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2014.

He has supported humanitarian causes, including relief for the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake through the Emirates Red Crescent. A prominent healthcare entrepreneur in the Emirates, he has helped expand private medical capacity across the region.

This profile is an independent editorial compilation drawn from the public record — official company and government sources, national honours, and established news coverage. Inclusion is an editorial selection by this journal; it is not an official state honour and is not a comment on anyone’s private affairs or tax matters. Corrections: admin@federaltaxauthority.org.

Part of Recognized contributors to the UAE — this journal’s directory of Emiratis and long-serving expatriates who helped shape the country.