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In IHH’s hospitals, leadership starts with the people no one sees

Every role matters – empathy, not strategy alone, determines success, says group CEO

Tan Ai Leng
Published Wed, Apr 22, 2026 · 03:00 PM
    • Group CEO of IHH Healthcare Dr Nair says: "In a hospital, even cleaners are critical – without them, the system simply cannot function."
    • Group CEO of IHH Healthcare Dr Nair says: "In a hospital, even cleaners are critical – without them, the system simply cannot function." PHOTO: JENNY LOW

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    [KUALA LUMPUR] Dr Prem Kumar Nair did not grow up dreaming of a career in only medicine. Law too appealed to him for the same reason healthcare eventually did: both are, at heart, about people.

    That instinct, more than any grand doctrine, now sits at the centre of how he runs IHH Healthcare – one of the world’s largest private-hospital operators.

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