Sonu Shivdasani is an Indian–British hotelier, who is the founder and CEO of Soneva, which owns luxury resorts Soneva Fushi and Jani in the Maldives, and Soneva Kiri in Thailand. He is also the founder and former CEO of the Six Senses Resorts & Spas that had locations throughout South East Asia and Europe, which he sold in 2012.
Early life and education
Sonu was born in England, the youngest son of Lakshmi and Indoo Shivdasani, an Indian businessman who made his fortune trading in Nigeria, with his offices based in London and Geneva. His parents originally hailed from Sindh in British India, though his father had migrated to England long before the Partition of India. He studied at Eton College in England, followed by Le Rosey in Switzerland, and later graduated from the Oxford University with an MA in English Literature. His grandfather was an Indian Civil Services officer, while his father after studying at Clare College, Cambridge built his business in finance, trade and agro-allied industries in West Africa, India and Europe. Later he founded the Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation in 1976, which funds education for students in India. His father died in 1979, when he was 13, leaving his older brother Azad to look after the family business. His elder sister, Bina Shivdasani, Countess Sella di Monteluce, worked in the field of women's education and became the first Asian High Sheriff of Greater London in 2002.
Career
After graduating from Oxford Sonu started working with his older brother Azad Shivdasani managing the family businesses. After having worked together for two years he founded Six Senses BVI and also Soneva Fushi spa and resort on the island of Kunfunadhoo in Maldives in 1995, along with his wife Eva, who took on the role of creative director. They started Evason group of hotels and the Six Senses Resorts & Spas, across South East Asia and Europe. Soneva Kiri on the island of Koh Kood, Thailand opened in 2009. By 2011 Six Senses was an international luxury spa and resort chain with 26 resorts and 41 spas. Eventually he sold Six Senses to Pegasus Capital in mid-2012, to focus on owned resorts with private residences, as part of the "One Owner, One Operator, One Philosophy, One Brand" strategy under Soneva. Sonu was one of the founders of the Soneva Foundation. For nearly 20 years Sonu and his wife, Eva, have created the template for sustainable tourism, coining the concepts of SLOW LIFE and intelligent luxury which recognises the ability for luxury holiday making and care for the environment to co-exist in harmony. The Soneva Foundation is a UK registered charity which supports the development of innovative and imaginative projects whose impacts directly address social and environmental challenges around the world. The Soneva Foundation has so far raised almost US$6 million from Soneva's 2 percent environmental levy. The money has been used to fund a forest restoration programme in northern Thailand where around half a million trees have been planted to mitigate 255,000 tonnes of CO2. The money has also funded a windmill in South India. The Foundation is also using the money to provide heavily subsidised cooking stoves in Myanmar and Darfur benefiting around 180,000 people to date. These stoves are extremely efficient and thus prevent the need for trees to be felled, reduce indoor toxic emissions, and save the families huge expenses from buying firewood. In Darfur, it also means that women do not need to spend as much back-breaking time carrying firewood and away from the protection of their IDP camps. Soneva resorts have also supported the global water crisis through being completely self-sufficient in water supply, filtering and bottling their own water. They charge their guests for the water of which 100 percent is donated to clean water projects. This concept was expanded by Karena Albers and Richard Branson who while taking part in The SLOW LIFE Symposium held by The Soneva Foundation that convenes business leaders, scientists, NGOs, renowned thinkers and policy makers to help accelerate progress towards environmental sustainability. The Symposium is an intimate event that convenes people with purpose: each and every participant is there because they are committed to positive change that is also good for business. In 2013 Karena Albers had the idea of expanding what they were doing in Soneva resorts to other hotels and restaurants around the world. This was the conception of Whole World Water that to date has raised more than 1 million dollars to provide clean water.
Personal life
He first met Eva Malmstrom, a Swedish model, through his sister, the late Countess Bina Sella di Monteluce, at the Grand Prix in Monte Carlo. They later married and spent their honeymoon travelling around some of the world’s most exclusive hotels and resorts, inspiring them to open their own. They leased a resort in the Maldives and set about creating their dream and a few years later opened Soneva Fushi. Eva became a designer, and went on to become creative director designing interiors at their resorts.
