Soneva’s New CEO Thinks Luxury Got Too Scripted – Exclusive
What will one of travel’s most exclusive brands look like with a private-equity owner?
The change for Soneva, which has three resorts in the Maldives, takes shape Monday with a rebrand: “Barefoot Luxury” becomes “Bare Luxury,” anchored by a new operational mantra, “Just What Matters,” and a new logo.
Soneva opened its first resort in 1995 and spent 30 years as the personal project of founders Sonu Shivdasani and Eva Malmstrom Shivdasani, who built a following for their commitment to sustainability.
KSL Capital Partners, a Denver firm that invests only in travel and leisure, held a minority stake since November 2019 and announced a majority interest in May 2025.
KSL named a new CEO, Neil Gallagher, and the founders stepped back from all involvement.
In an exclusive interview with Skift, Gallagher said he treated the founders’ DNA as “off-limits” and went after everything else.
“My job isn’t to sit there
