Sonal Sachdev was born with a passion for healthcare and a flair for entrepreneurship as she followed in her father’s footsteps, starting at the bottom and learning the ropes to work her way up in the healthcare and education business to one of the most prominent women in the healthcare industry in the GCC and to her current role of Director of Strategic Planning at Leader Healthcare.
Leader Healthcare has since its establishment in 2009 gone on to become one of the highest performing medical,healthcare and education distributors in the region. Headquartered in Dubai and with over 250 employees globally, Leader Healthcare now has operations across the Middle East, India and the Asia Pacific, Canada and the US, making it a truly global company.
Sonal is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction and overall development of the group, spearheading its expansion into new territories and previously untapped markets. She is driven by her family’s passion for success, which makes her more ambitious and determined to embark on her own path. Sonal’s aim is to enable quality education and healthcare around the world, while building a strong network of female entrepreneurs, and encouraging diversity and mental health in the workplace.
In addition to an upbringing in an entrepreneurial and business-driven environment, Sonal holds two degrees in business and management from Ryerson University and Western University in Canada. Having grown up drawing inspirations from the various departments within Leader Healthcare Group, Sonal is focused on using her broad range of experience and knowledge to bring innovative solutions to the business.
Sonal speaks exclusively with Ananke about her work, journey and vision.
Tell us a bit about yourself and the journey that led you to where you are now?
Being the Director Of Strategic Planning across the Leader Healthcare Group, I look after and oversee the strategic direction and development of the company and its’ subsidiaries. I spearhead the expansion of the group into the new markets. I am passionate about enabling quality of life and education in the region.
Being a part of the Leader Healthcare Group over the past 9 years, it has been a beautiful learning experience. Everyday holds new opportunities that I wake up to across the distribution portfolio of global brands that we represent that are dedicated to patient outcomes, education and quality of life. With over 12 corporate offices across 8 countries, and strategic partnerships across MENA, APAC & North America regions, we are ready for the next decade of disruption and innovation.
Tell us about your company/organization and the vision behind the launch?
Since 2009 Leader Healthcare has rapidly grown to become one of the largest and most well-known company in field of healthcare solutions across the Middle East. Based in Dubai, and with offices in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, India and Australia, we have an international approach to distributing only the best medical products, equipment and training to healthcare and educational professionals.
Saving lives and supporting the wellbeing of our community is the cornerstone of Leader Healthcare and our subsidiaries, Leader Life Sciences, Leader Edutech and Leader Biotech Pharma. Across our verticals we aim to harness remarkable products, the latest technology and finest customer service to deliver a peerless healthcare experience.
Because we recognize the medical and educational industry is dynamic and ever-changing, our goal is to react as quickly and responsively as possible to bring our customers exactly what they need, when they need it.
What have been some of the challenges you encountered while setting up your business?
In a business, everyone faces challenges, but I think that how you overcome these challenges and find solutions at the right time is important. It is all a learning curve and how to keep yourself optimistic and overcome them without getting overwhelmed is where the real power lies. Being an entrepreneur, it is very important to be knowledgeable and to keep reading to stay educated in whichever field you are in. We feel blessed to be able to grow this company provide opportunities for our employees and colleagues.
Do you believe gender factors in when you are setting up as well as leading an organization? If yes, is that a positive factor when it comes to the vision?
There is definitely gender equality in our company and it is so important and a positive factor when it comes to equality at a workplace. Here there are equal access to opportunities for everyone.
How inclusive is your business and how does it empower your target audience?
At Leader Healthcare Group, everyone is welcome to contribute to our success and their success, there are no exceptions.We are actively building a company that’s more progressive, people centric and continuously creating a workplace where all employees can feel accepted, included and valued for who they are. We believe that the more diverse our people are and the more inclusive our culture is, the more innovative and successful we will be in achieving our purpose
What are some of the most memorable milestones – professional as well as related to your company?
For the past 11 years, we look back proudly at many significant achievements that have helped us acquire a leadership position in the healthcare and educational areas. Most recently, we are proud to be able to support the nation’s initiative towards the fight against the pandemic by executing many projects
How empowering is it to be a UAE-based company?
There are many opportunities that exist in this diverse country. We have seen stability, steady growth and many networking opportunities with larger markets
The UAE recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, what would you like to say?
On this occasion, I’d love to congratulate the rulers of the emirates, their optimism, vision, and quality of life they have given all of us is amazing. Being an expat and living in the UAE for the past few years, personally i have a lot of appreciation to the nation’s frontline workers and to the dedicated team. The government here has really taken care of the wellbeing of its community, and I feel blessed to be living here
