Sonu Shivdasani – Founder, CEO & President, Soneva

In less than two decades Sonu Shivdasani has created a pioneering vision for sustainable tourism, coining the concept of barefoot and intelligent luxury which recognizes the ability for luxury holiday making and care for the environment to co-exist with perfect ease. Six Senses Resorts & Spas was born out of an immediate love for the Maldives, which Sonu first visited almost 2 decades ago with his now wife and Creative Director Eva Malmstrom-Shivdasani. Captivated by the beauty of these precious islands Sonu and Eva decided to buy an island and build their home there, with just one caveat from the Maldivian government; on the basis of granting permission for them to build a home, they must build a resort and open a management company to run it. So Six Senses Resorts & Spas began as a labour of love and their first and flagship resort Soneva Fushi by Six Senses opened in 1995. Soneva Fushi quickly received iconic status amongst the discerning travel community and industry endorsements soon followed with a host of awards including in 2000 The Best of the Best by the readers of Conde Nast Traveller UK.

The Six Senses Group and its Core Purpose to create Innovative and enlightening SLOWLIFE (Sustainable *Local *Organic * Wellness * Learning *Inspiring * Fun *Experience) has since evolved into almost 26 resorts that are either open or under development, and 41 Six Senses Spas in the groups own properties or hosted by third-party managed properties. Each resort remains true to Sonu and Eva’s original vision of 5 star luxury accommodation but with a commitment to protecting the environment and respecting the local culture and fragile host eco system which was to remain undisturbed by the opening of any new resort.  Each Six Senses resort uses only natural and sustainable building materials, plastic is banned and as much produce as possible is grown or caught locally to support the group’s constant drive to lower its carbon footprint and to realize Sonu’s vision for the group to be totally ‘decarbonised’ by 2020.

A man of immense energy, vitality and vision, Sonu continues to be a leader in driving positive change and pioneering eco-tourism. His belief is that protection is not enough and a ‘reverse thrust’ is needed. Recognizing that tourism by its very nature causes a carbon footprint, Six Senses has proactively implemented several initiatives to mitigate this and give back to the environment.  One of which includes working with PATT (Plant a Tree Today) to reforest a large area of Northern Thailand with a target of planting 250,000 trees  per year for 10 years. This will be one of the largest sponsored areas of reforestation providing work for the local community and crucial support for endangered wildlife. Six Senses has also donated a 1.5megawatt in Tamil Nadu, South India.

In the last eighteen months, Six Senses has also begun a water project which has resulted in banning imported water to all of its resorts – reducing ‘food miles’ as well as the use of plastic – in favour of bottling its own water, in glass recyclable bottles adding minerals at source. Revenue from sales of Six Senses water is divided amongst three water charities, whose work as a result of these donations over the past 18 months has meant access to clean water for over 400,000 people previously denied this.

Most recently Six Senses has become a proud partner of the Blue Marine Foundation, a foundation dedicated to preserving the world’s fragile oceans and supporting eco systems. Six Senses has pledged a percentage of its annual revenue to funding local community projects such as supporting educational systems that promote awareness of marine conservation as well as active projects including replanting of mangrove forests, coral cleaning and endangered species protection.

A descendant of Indian parents, Sonu was born and studied largely in England, with some periods of his education being in Nigeria and Switzerland. He is an alumnus of Eton College and a graduate of Oxford University, where he received an MA in English Literature.