Sunny Varkey

Founder and Chairman, GEMS Education
Founder and Trustee, Varkey GEMS Foundation

Sunny Varkey is the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Education Partnerships.

A visionary education entrepreneur, Sunny Varkey believes passionately that education is the most important issue in the world today because of the effect it can have in reducing conflict, prejudice, poverty and intolerance.

He is committed to improving the quality of education to millions of children around the world.

He achieves his vision through his international education company, GEMS Education, which is family owned and has been operating for over 50 years. It is a third generation education family.

The company owns and operates schools, provides support to governments to improve quality in government schools, globally and helps provide access to education for underprivileged children through the Varkey GEMS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of GEMS Education.

Through his dynamic leadership and business acumen, Sunny Varkey has developed a global network of award winning international schools, which span nine countries reaching 130,000 students from 151 different nationalities. GEMS Education is the largest kindergarten to grade 12 private education provider in the world.

The GEMS Education model is unique in the world because it offers schools with a range of
internationally recognized curricula and a range of tuition fees making private education more accessible and affordable to the broader community than ever before. Our curricula include American, British, Indian, IB and local. Tuition fees in our schools range from US$500.00 up to US$40,000.

VIDEO: Sunny Varkey featured on BBC World’s Peschardts People Please click on the link above to watch the video.

GEMS Education employs over 11,000 teachers, specialists and other staff. It is the largest
employer of Indian and British teachers outside of their home country.

Sunny Varkey has forged partnerships with the World Economic Forum, Microsoft, UNESCO, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, Pratham and Dubai Cares.  

The Varkey GEMS Foundation is a not for profit organization and the honorary Chairman is former US President Bill Clinton. The Foundation aims to impact 100 underprivileged children for every student enrolled in a GEMS school. 

In 2012, Sunny Varkey was awarded an honorary degree (Doctor of the University) by
Heriot-Watt University, in recognition of his contribution and achievements in the
development and accessibility of education internationally.

Sunny Varkey named as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. Read the press release.

Also in 2012, he was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in recognition for “his contribution to forging innovative public-private partnerships to ensure that underprivileged
children across the world receive a good quality education”.

In 2009, Sunny Varkey was honoured by the Government of India for his contributions to Education with the Padmashri Award. The award is one of the highest civilian honours of the country.  In 2002 he was named one of the top 50 Non-Resident Indians in the world.

In 2007 Sunny Varkey pledged USD 30 million to Dubai Cares, a Dubai based charity focused on providing education to primary school children.

He is also the recipient of several additional awards which include:

• 2012- Sunny Varkey was given the Life Time Achievement Award in the SOE (School of Educators) Global Education Awards 2012
• 2012 – Sunny Varkey received the Education: Business Leader of the Year award at the Gulf Business Industry Awards
• 2012 - Sunny Varkey was awarded the “Knowledge Development and Education Partnership CEO Excellence Award” at the “9th Middle East CEO of the Year Awards
• 2011 - The Government of Russia presented Sunny Varkey with an ‘Honorary Order – Public Recognition’ award, for his personal contribution to the international humanitarian cooperation and charity support to disabled children and for his role in the development of friendly relations between the people of the Russian Federation and the UAE.
• 2011 - The UAE Ministry of Education conferred an award to Sunny Varkey in recognition of his significant contributions to developing education in the country. 
• 2008 - Sunny Varkey received the Rajiv Gandhi Award for Eminent Educationist, for his commitment to providing education to children of all socio economic backgrounds and for his commitment to raising standards in education.
• 2008 - Sunny Varkey was listed as a finalist early in 2008, for the Ernst & Young Middle East Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
• 2007 - Sunny Varkey was awarded the CEO Middle East Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, in recognition for his considerable achievements in supporting charities over the last 30 years.
• 2007 - The Global Indian Business Award was presented to Sunny Varkey at the Global Indian Business Summit in Singapore, in recognition for his achievements and contributions as an outstanding NRI and Indian entrepreneur.
• 2007 - Sunny Varkey was named the Most Outstanding Businessman of the Year by Asian Businessman Awards, Middle East for his achievements in education and healthcare. 
• 2001 - Sunny Varkey re received the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Welfare Prize from the UAE government.