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In a flat-roofed office just off Dubai's central motorway, lies a nerve centre for educating 130,000 children around the world.
On the top floor of this otherwise non-descript building resides the regal, mahogany-panelled office of Sunny Varkey, the founder of GEMS Education, the world's largest private schools company.
An enigma to many, rumour has it that it is easier to get in contact with former US president and GEM's not-for-profit ambassador Bill Clinton, than it is to get hold of the low-profile Varkey himself.
And judging by the office walls, adorned with photos of Jordan's Queen Rania, former British PM Tony Blair, and Dubai's Ruler HH Sheikh Mohammed, Varkey's arguably got more important friends.
Smoothing down his impeccable double-breasted suit, the chairman seats himself for the photo shoot. "I have a thing for clothes," he says.
Varkey leans back, with an inscrutable smile, and it's not difficult to see why this multi-millionaire Indian entrepreneur has swept the global corridors of power with seeming ease. He has the natural charm and easy statesmanship of a leader.
"I'm not a saint, but I believe you've got to pray, be focused, and work hard for your success," the chairman says.
Varkey's teacher parents arrived in Dubai from Kerala, India, in 1959 and, 10 years later, they bought Our Own English High School, the beginnings of a pedagogy mega-empire. In his twenties Varkey bore a heavy weight on his shoulders as he took over the family business.
Today, the chairman runs close to 100 schools across 19 countries, from the UAE, to the US, Azerbaijan, Uganda and the UK.
Varkey's PR man, Richard Forbes, tells me UK-based business magazine The Economist interviewed GEMS just a few weeks back. "They never wrote anything, just that GEMS entered the London schools market and was 'cheeky'," he says. "Is that good or bad?" I ask. "I don't know," he says.
Well, 'cheeky' is one way to describe GEMS' jaunty assault on the global education market. The firm is currently building schools in Chicago, Switzerland, India, Singapore, Qatar and plans to be in 50 countries in the next three to five years. These days, Varkey's mobile phone rings constantly. Often, it will be an emerging market country inviting GEMS to set up...