Religare Health Trust (RHT), a wholly owned subsidiary of Delhi-based Religare Enterprise Ltd (REL), has named Gurpreet Dhillon as CEO of the company. Earlier, Dhillon was working as the executive director and COO of RHT.
The company has made this move to separate the roles of executive chairman and chief executive officer. Prior to Dhillon’s appointment, Ravi Mehrotra held both the positions. Mehrotra will continue as the executive chairman of the company.
Religare Health Trust houses the hospital services business of the Indian healthcare firm Fortis, which holds a minority stake in the Singapore-listed entity. The group spliced off this unit as part of a value-unlocking move where the clinical establishment division was taken out of the parent company. It retains the medical services division comprising in-patients departments, intensive care units, operation theatres and emergency services business. Religare Health Trust’s mandate is to principally invest in medical and healthcare assets and services in Asia, Australasia and emerging markets.
“Since our public listing several months ago, I have worked closely with Gurpreet to build a strong foundation for disciplined and profitable growth,” Ravi Mehrotra said. “Gurpreet’s deep familiarity with the business, strong knowledge of international corporate finance and proven track record of delivering results for RHT give me confidence that he is the perfect executive to lead the company going forward,” he added.
Dhillon has been an executive director of Religare Health Trust Trustee Manager Pte Ltd since 2011. He has nearly a decade-long experience in corporate strategy, finance, merger & acquisition, internal regulatory and taxation. Prior to RHT, he was on the board of directors of Religare Capital Markets. He is also a founding shareholder of Religare Enterprises.
Religare Health Trust listed its units on Singapore Exchange in 2012 and raised $419 million. One of its sponsors includes Fortis Healthcare Ltd, which holds 28 per cent stake in Religare Healthcare Trust.
“Ravi was instrumental in successfully bringing RHT to the market. I and the rest of the management team continue to look forward to working closely with him in his role as executive chairman,” said Dhillon.
Gurpreet Dhillon is also a second cousin of the billionaire brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh who are the promoters of Religare and Fortis Group. Moreover, Gurpreet is one of the two sons of Gurinder Singh Dhillon, leader of the spiritual group Radha Soami Satsang Beas. The Singh brothers are followers of the spiritual group and their maternal grandfather had previously served as one of the gurus of the group.
(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)