Dr Reem Osman: Dubai's game-changing CEO

Whip-smart and dedicated to work and family, she has become a force so strong she was recently named in Arabian Business magazine’s ‘50 Inspiring Women Leaders 2024’ in the UAE.

From her office at the Saudi German Hospital Group in Dubai, the Regional CEO of the Middle East and North Africa’s top private healthcare provider is earnest, bubbly and engaging.

“I was born and raised in Syria and loved learning as a child, but I never dreamed I’d be where I am today,” says Reem.

“In Syria, all parents want their children to be doctors or engineers, and the humanitarian and scientific side of medicine appealed to me as a noble profession.”

In 2010, after practicing for four years as an ophthalmologist, that innate yearning for more education kicked in again.
Reem decided it was time to add another lane to her career highway, by enrolling in the University of Wollongong in Dubai's two-year Master of Business Administration course.

“Its business administration degree was recognised as one of the strongest in our region and it was conveniently close for me as a young mother with two small children,” she recalls.

“I enjoyed those two years because I had great respect for the professors, who were very supportive, and the course content gave me a solid foundation to execute the career change I wanted to make,” she says.

Reem, who had been working as a doctor at Saudi German Hospital Group prior to her MBA, returned there after graduating, but this time as a member of its finance team.

Within months she was escalated to CEO where she focused on innovation and expansion with a staff that leapt from 400 in 2012 to 2,000 today.

Reem is now in her element.

“A CEO without a medical background may be good, but in health care management you are dealing with a range of doctors who are rightfully proud of what they do, so it’s an advantage to be able to communicate with them on a level playing field with mutual respect,” she says. 

Dr Reem Osman hosts an official visit by the Dubai Health Insurance Corporation leadership team. 

Her management style embraces an open-door policy which encourages shared communication among her team.

“Innovation comes from not only talking to my team but listening to them and exchanging ideas,” she says.

Confidence abounds in Reem, and it comes from a mother who encouraged her four children to reach for the stars.

“My mother produced three doctors and one engineer, and she encouraged us all to go travelling after graduation and work abroad.

“My style of management is efficient rather than aggressive when it comes to becoming one of the best hospitals in the region,” she says.

“And you must have the confidence to convince the Board to believe in your ideas.”

She is also a leader who firmly believes in presenting herself as a woman who is capable, but also confident in expressing her femininity.

“I love fashion. I feel you should always be connected to your femininity.

“I often don’t have time to go to the mall, but I have a favourite online shop that I sometimes browse in between meetings,” she says with a giggle.

Osman at fourth anniversary celebrations for Saudi German Hospital, Ajman in 2023. 

But Reem is far from one of the UAE’s socialites.

“In life you have to clearly define your priorities and for me that is my career and my three girls, who are all now in their teens,” she says.

“My time away from the office is spent with them – swimming, yachting, watching a movie or just cooking at home.

“Swimming is good because you can’t reach for your phone or computer,” she says.

Her daughters make her success all the sweeter knowing what she has achieved has already made it easier for their generation to reach their goals in life.

“Like my mother, I have raised them to be confident and independent and to feel the world is theirs.”