Sunny Varkey is the founder of GEMS Education — the world's largest operator of private international schools, with over 70 schools across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia educating more than 135,000 students from over 150 nationalities.
Born in Kerala, India, and raised in Dubai, he built GEMS from a single school in 1968 — started by his parents — into a global education empire. His vision that every child deserves access to a world-class education has driven his extraordinary entrepreneurial journey.
Through the Varkey Foundation, he champions better training, pay and recognition for teachers worldwide. He established the Global Teacher Prize — dubbed the Nobel Prize for teaching — a $1 million annual award recognising an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.