KEVIN DEISSER

Growing up in French-speaking Belgium, Kevin Deisser discovered the benefits of global living while studying Economics at the University of Granada in Spain during his early 20s. The ability of an outsider to find value that locals cannot see fascinated him and after finishing his Masters in Business Management back in Liège, he wasted no time returning to Spain in 2012 to create his first start-up, a niche importation business.

The financial crisis led to Amazon recruiting his help to get SMEs from across Europe back on their feet, helping them online and gradually improving profit margins. It was in 2014, however, that life changed when the Marriott International offered him the chance to be a key part of their international sales team in Mallorca. Providing a first taste of working in the hospitality sector, he quickly recognised the key ingredients required to help clients profit from luxury real estate.

Now armed with industry experience and the ability to see value where others don’t, he dedicated himself to researching the Asian property market, spending six months travelling the region meeting with local and foreign investors, construction firms, management companies, regulators, and government officials. After absorbing all the information he could, he launched Invest Islands in 2015, selecting a remote island called Lombok as his base due to its huge potential for international growth.

Within just a couple of years, Lombok had expanded rapidly, its airport welcoming flights from Perth, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Seoul. That pace of development soon spread into real estate, resulting in a string of successful land sales and ultimately requiring Kevin to open a second office and recruit a business partner to ease the load.