At RAH GILI MALDIVES, energy matters as much as architecture. As the first island in the SIX & SIX PRIVATE ISLANDS collection, RAH GILI sets the tone for a new kind of private island experience—one shaped not by repetition or resort clichés, but by rhythm, feeling, and narrative clarity.

Ads By Oaga Art Resort Maldives

Scheduled to open in early 2026, the island has been envisioned as a creative retreat: music-forward, emotionally attuned, and design-led. To help bring that vision to life in its day-to-day expression, SIX & SIX is pleased to announce the appointment of Chunky Mathew as Resort Manager.

His arrival marks a key step in establishing the on-island leadership needed to translate brand philosophy into operational reality—ensuring that RAH GILI’s spirit is felt not only in concept, but in every guest interaction, ritual, and team culture moment. With over two decades of hospitality experience spanning luxury resorts and city hotels in high-energy lifestyle destinations, Chunky brings a rare combination of structure and soul. Known for his intuitive leadership style and ability to nurture emotionally intelligent teams, he steps into this role at a defining moment—not just for the island, but for the brand itself.

“I want RAH GILI to feel like a private daydream,” Chunky shares. “The kind of place where you arrive and something quietly shifts. The energy is different. The details are deliberate. And the feeling stays with you long after you’ve left.”

His role as Resort Manager will place him at the centre of orchestrating the guest experience—leading the island team in delivering moments that feel effortless, intentional, and deeply in tune with the mood of the island. He will work in close collaboration with the island’s General Manager and the broader SIX & SIX leadership team, acting as a key bridge between operational execution and cultural delivery.

Ads By The Standard, Huruvalhi Maldives

At SIX & SIX, the Resort Manager is more than a title. It’s a role inspired by the Maldivian concept of the Edhuru—a guide and steward of rhythm. The Edhuru doesn’t just lead operations. They help carry the unseen tone of the island. They hold the cultural logic. They ensure that what’s been envisioned by brand and creative teams is honoured in the daily pulse of the place.

That alignment will be especially critical at RAH GILI. As the brand’s lifestyle-led island, it is being built for a new generation of travellers: curious, well-travelled, and creatively minded. Guests who don’t respond to spectacle, but to subtlety. Who want luxury without performance, and service without scripts. “The kind of traveller we’re welcoming to RAH GILI has already seen the world,” Chunky says. “They’re looking for something that speaks their language. That’s not louder or flashier—but more human, more honest, and more emotionally specific.”

Leading a team that can deliver on that expectation requires more than traditional operational acumen. It requires emotional fluency, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to nurture a team culture that values creativity, autonomy, and shared purpose.

Chunky’s leadership style—described by those who’ve worked with him as empathetic, empowering, and unfiltered—has always prioritised people. He builds environments where teams feel seen, trusted, and invited to contribute meaningfully to the story being told. His focus isn’t just on execution—it’s on energy. And how that energy is felt by everyone who steps foot on the island.

“My goal is to build a culture where people don’t just deliver service—they shape experience,” he notes. “Where team members understand the emotional tone of the island and have the space to interpret it in their own way. That’s how the brand becomes real.”

Ads By Summer Island Maldives

At RAH GILI, that means helping lead the development of new rituals, setting service rhythms that respond to the time of day and season, and curating sensory moments—from music to scent to silence—that align with the island’s identity. His influence will be subtle but critical, especially in shaping the island’s operational rituals ahead of opening.

His arrival also comes at a time of increasing complexity and momentum for the brand. As RAH GILI prepares to open in Q1 of 2026, it is already laying the foundations for DHON MAAGA MALDIVES, its second resort, launching in the latter of 2026. Each island in the SIX & SIX collection will have its own tone, concept, and guest profile, but they are united by a commitment to emotional resonance, creative restraint, and design fluency.

Marc Gussing, Director of Operations for SIX & SIX PRIVATE ISLANDS, shares:

“Chunky leads with instinct, drive, kindness and an infectious energy that lifts the entire island. RAH GILI doesn’t follow routine—it follows rhythm. And Chunky has an extraordinary talent to set the beat in motion. That’s how the island moves from simply being seen to truly being felt."

Beyond his day-to-day responsibilities, Chunky will play a pivotal role in guiding pre-opening training, building team rituals, and ensuring alignment between departments—from guest services and culinary to wellness and lifestyle programming. His ability to work across functions, while staying rooted in the guest’s emotional experience, makes him uniquely suited to this position.

When asked what excites him most, he answers without a pause.

“The blank canvas,” he says. “The chance to create something original. Something that doesn’t look or feel like anything else in the Maldives. That’s rare—and it’s something I take seriously.”

In keeping with the island’s energy, he also shares a personal soundtrack to set the tone: Electric Feel by MGMT. A track that captures, in his words, “that undercurrent of cool—something slightly off-centre but full of charge.” It’s a subtle signal of what’s to come.

As Resort Manager, Chunky won’t be the face of the island—but he’ll be one of its strongest voices. A grounding presence. A tone-holder. Someone who helps shape not just what guests experience, but how they experience it.

And in a brand that believes in building places that breathe, that may be one of the most important roles of all.