Many children of Indian billionaires are exploring unconventional career paths instead of joining their family businesses. One such example is Zeba Moopen, the youngest daughter of Dr. Azad Moopen, the founder and chairman of UAE-based Aster DM Healthcare, a company with a market capitalization of Rs. 26,134 crore. Zeba chose to follow her passion for diving, leaving behind a promising medical career. She is now a certified rescue diver and has also obtained an AIDA4 certification, enabling her to teach freediving.
Zeba grew up in the UAE, where she experienced a typical “Gulf-Indian” expat lifestyle, with summers spent in her ancestral home state of Kerala. She pursued pre-medical studies at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States before earning her MBBS degree from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India. However, towards the end of her medical training, Zeba realized that medicine wasn’t her true calling. Despite this, she completed a year of medical practice before transitioning to a management role in her father’s company.
During her time at Aster DM Healthcare, Zeba played a key role in launching the Aster Volunteers Programme, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. However, she eventually stepped away from some of her corporate responsibilities to focus on her passion for diving, dedicating herself to exploring and teaching the sport. In addition to her diving pursuits, she serves as a trustee at the DM Wayanad Institute of Medical Sciences, a medical college in Kerala.
When Dr. Zeba Moopen was 17, she decided to try scuba diving in the UAE just for fun. She didn’t realize at the time that this decision would eventually change her life. However, this transformation didn’t happen right away. Eight years later, at 25, during a family vacation in the Maldives, she truly discovered her passion.
Reflecting on that period, Zeba had told yourstory.com about feeling lost and unsure of her identity. “I had spent most of my life trying to fit into a mold I had created for myself,” she shared. Struggling with mental health challenges, she decided to revisit scuba diving, thinking, “I have the certification, so why not use it?” Once she embraced the water, everything changed. Being in the ocean brought her a sense of peace and connection she had never felt before. From that moment, she knew she had found her calling and never looked back.
Two years ago, Zeba began exploring freediving and quickly excelled in the sport. At the Apnea Pirates AIDA Cup 2023 freediving championship in Dubai, she set a national record in the 30-meter category, completing it in just one minute and ten seconds. Her journey from a medical career to diving into the wonders of the ocean is a powerful story of self-discovery and resilience.
