LEADERSHIP
Our leadership team, led by Chief Executive Officer Alniz Popat, provides us with the authority and direction to ensure long-term success and prosperity.
MEET OUR EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM:
ALNIZ POPAT
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Alniz founded Lifecare 20 years ago in his native country Kenya to address the growing need for health insurance solutions for individuals and businesses. Soon after establishing the business, he moved to Dubai to open Lifecare’s head office, before later opening an additional branch in Qatar. Alniz is responsible for the strategic direction of the company, and it is his drive and passion to help people get the right healthcare, through affordable insurance, that has led to Lifecare becoming a strong and sustainable business. Having overseen the growth of Lifecare, Alniz is proud that the company now employs over 125 caring and passionate team members. He’s built an impressive client portfolio of over 1,250 businesses and 30,000 members. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Canada, in finance and economics, Alniz is also an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organisation in Kenya and the World Presidents’ Organisation in the United Arab Emirates, and is CII certified.
NAUSHEEN POPAT
Chief Commercial Officer
Along with Alniz, Nausheen founded Lifecare 20 years ago. She is responsible for managing and coordinating the commercial and operational side of the business across Dubai, Kenya, and Qatar. Nausheen is focused on delivering the team’s operational excellence strategic initiative. She has been the key driver behind enabling Lifecare to gain and retain its ISO certification, thereby achieving international standards in quality and client servicing. She has been integral in developing relationships with customers and major service providers in the market, to promote strategic partnerships that serve our clients and support the growth of our business. Nausheen is a graduate from the University of Northridge, California, and holds a bachelor’s degree in hotel management.
GUY GUILLEMARD
Executive Board Member
Guy brings a wealth of regional and international business knowledge to Lifecare, with over 30 years of operations management, consultancy, and business development experience. In the 1980’s Guy was responsible for establishing and opening the Dubai World Trade Centre, which is now the regional epicentre for meetings and global business trade events. Prior to his time at Lifecare, Guy founded Signature Clubs International. He is also the co-founder of the Capital Club – a prestigious private business and social club with locations in Dubai, Bahrain, Nairobi, and Lagos.
KARIM LADHA
Head of Operational Excellence
Karim is an accomplished sales and strategic operations executive and brings with him over 20 years of experience in the financial services, IT and FMCG sectors. With previous roles heading up operational teams in Zurich International Life and Friends Provident International in the Middle East, Karim has a rich background in insurance operational management and customer service. His role at Lifecare is to drive and implement the process and systems re-engineering programme to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of business operations, and to inject multi-national best practice procedures into all aspects of the organisation. Karim holds a BSc degree in Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.
KISHORE PURSWANI
Chief Financial Officer
Kishore has 20 years of senior management experience having worked for fast-paced and high-growth, software and service-based companies in the UAE and North America. Kishore has helped companies in raising capital, streamlining operations, and increasing efficiencies, as well as with mergers and acquisitions. He played a pivotal role in achieving double-digit revenue growth for his previous companies. Kishore is responsible for providing a robust structure to sustain growth, formulating the company’s future direction, implementing strategic business plans, developing financial strategies, managing budgets, carrying out financial reporting, and developing performance measurements. Kishore holds dual designations as a CPA from Delaware, USA, as well as a CPA from Ontario, Canada.
RACHEL DUNPHY
Group Chief Operations Officer
In her current role, Rachel provides leadership and oversight across HR, IT, and the corporate governance functions of Lifecare. Her proven track record in HR strategy design, organisational development, employee engagement, change management, performance management, and rewards ensures a strong company culture and team development to help support the company’s goals and objectives. She also defines and implements people and business-related strategies to support change and business growth. With a first class honours BA in HRM, from the National College of Ireland, Rachel is also a qualified business and executive coach, passionate about developing effective individuals and forming winning teams.
ANCHAL CHOUBEY
Group-Head of IT and Project Portfolio
Anchal is a strategic technology functional leader who has been instrumental in driving technology transformations for businesses. He is a transformational IT professional and seasoned programme manager with experience across multiple geographies, including the US, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. His experience has seen him in charge of strategic technology initiatives, architecting, delivering and leading projects, and managing IT for companies at an enterprise level. In his current role at Lifecare, he leads the IT strategy, technology transformations, analytics, software delivery, architecture, and Cloud across all lines of business in the UAE, Qatar and Kenya. By creating strategic initiatives that align with IT transformation, he is able to deliver real business value.
TAIRA ABDULLA
Country Manager – Kenya
Taira has worked with Lifecare for the past 14 years and is currently responsible for managing operations across the three offices in Kenya. Her experience stems from not only understanding but having had hands-on experience working with clients through every stage of their medical insurance journey. She is focused on delivering client-centric strategic initiatives and her solution-based advice is extremely valuable. Taira works with a team of 40 people to ensure that all Lifecare clients receive the best advice and care for their health insurance needs. She has qualifications in business administration and certifications from the Kenya College of Insurance.