A Vision built on Passion and Tradition

Born in Novara (Italy), he graduated in engineering at the Politecnico di Milano, with a double master in chemical and petroleum engineering at the university of Montreal. After completing his studies, Roberto immediately started to work for the Italian oil company ENI. He then decided to join Baker Hughes where he started this career as petroleum engineer occupying several positions at different growing levels. At the age of 40 Roberto decided to change his life, following his dream, and becoming a chef. From Abu Dhabi he moved back to Italy where he got the diploma at the Culinary School in Stresa, studying and working in fine dining restaurants at the same time.

After visiting Sri Lanka several times as tourist he felt in love with Sri Lanka culture and people so he decided with other two friends to invest in Sri Lanka in the hospitality sector. The first challenge was to create an Italian fine dining restaurant in Galle Fort in 2019. Although the tough time that followed that year, the restaurant quickly became one of the best restaurants of Sri Lanka, so the decision of opening more restaurants in the country came naturally. The AQUA brand is now synonymous of high-quality with more ambitious plans for the future.

Born in Trento (Italy), he moved to Milan in 1996, where he achieved the Master in Petroleum Engineering. He lived for two years in Montreal (Canada) where he obtained a Master in Chemical Engineering. Subsequently he started working for ENI E&P, the major Italian oil company until 2005 when he left Italy to start his globetrotting career in Baker Hughes, where he worked until 2021. In this company, he changed several roles in growing levels and lived in several countries. In Australia he also completed his MBA, one of the first steps towards a vision of an entrepreneurial future.

Although educated in engineering, his passion for the travel and hospitality world was clear since childhood. Travel, luxury hotels, food and wine have been his passions for long time. He is also graduated through the Wine & Spirit Education Trusts awards in order to consolidate and formalize his passion for wines. With the creation of APRI Enterprise, he could finally follow his vision of investing in the hospitality industry, combining his MBA education with passion for hotels and restaurants.

Born in Madrid, Spain, Ian holds a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering from the Polytechnic of Madrid and Ecole Centrale of Paris, and a Post Graduate Degree in Theoretical Physics from Paris XI University. He started his career in Paris in the energy sector, and progressed to different positions in different countries. After several years of professional experience, he completed a Master’s Degree in Energy Management at the IFP-ESPC Paris and BI Oslo, focusing on energy efficiency and conservation. He currently works for a major independent renewable power producer, Akuo Energy and lives between Paris and Dubai, with regular visits to Sri Lanka.

With a life-long passion for travel, food and wine, he gains great satisfaction from discovering new places and cuisines and from sharing these pleasures with others. He has travelled to almost 80 countries across the world, collecting ideas and inspiration. Having found his personal paradise in Sri Lanka, his dream was opening a business where people can enjoy the finest hospitality and culinary experiences, which are found only in a few special places on Earth.