Updated December 7th, 2018:
Christopher Burch, the founder and CEO of Burch Creative Capital, a New York based private investment company, has a background of nearly 40 years as an investor and entrepreneur. He uses a set of creative skills in combination with sound financial practices to create, incubate, support and scale disruptive brands and businesses. He has been involved in the rise of more than 50 companies. The company’s investment philosophy thrives on Burch’s entrepreneurial values as well as vision for novel market opportunities.
In 2015, Christopher Burch turned a cult surfing destination into one of the world’s most pristine beachfront luxury resorts. Today the Nihi Sumba Resort, which is located on the remote Sumba Island in Bali, Indonesia, is ranked as one of the best hotels in the world according to Travel + Leisure.
The man responsible for the resort’s quick rise is Chris Burch, the founder and CEO of Burch Creative Capital — a New York based private investment company. Burch, who has over 40 years of experience as an investor and entrepreneur, has been involved in the rise of more than 50 companies, including Voss Water, Jawbone and Poppin. It’s no surprise that he has been successful with Nihi, and all the ventures he takes on, because he uses his creative skills with a combination of sound financial practices to create, support and scale brands and businesses. Burch has relied increasingly on his ability to find the nexus between innovation and implementation, which has landed him key roles such as a partnership with beloved entertainer, Ellen DeGeneres, to launch her lifestyle brand, ED.
Formally known as Sandalwood Island, Sumba is twice the size of Bali, but doesn’t boast the population of the more-famed island – with Bali coming in at over 4 million people and Sumba Island at just over 600,000 people. It has been Burch’s goal to keep the island true to itself and not allow too many outside influences. Ever since its discovery in the 16th century by Portuguese explorers, Sumba has remained vastly untouched and uninfluenced by the outside world, as its coast remain unspoiled and undeveloped, insuring that the island is able to preserve its pristine and natural beauty.
The story of Nihi Sumba Island starts well before the luxury resort was built. As legend has it, the tale began when Sumba’s ancestors, the “Marapu” landed on the secluded beach centuries ago. While beliefs about the Marapu powers vary, their spirit has remained a force on the island — as it is believed to protect the way of life on the island. It is said to attract custodians whom honor and carry the heritage and stories of the Sumbanese people, past and present.
It wasn’t until 1988, when surfers Claude and Petra Graves, who were in search of the perfect wave, arrived at that Indonesian beach. They stumbled upon Sumba Island and had a vision to create a resort that would preserve and share the breathtaking beauty of Sumba with those who would truly appreciate it. The Graves would name their beach Nihiwatu, meaning, “mortar stone,” which was named by settlers for its isolated rock formation along the tide.
By 2012, the legend of Nihiwatu reached the renowned brand-building American entrepreneur Chris Burch, who was told Claude Graves was looking for help to expand the resort. It was then Burch teamed up with South African-born hotelier James McBride, who was the president of YTL Hotels in Singapore at the time, to look into buying the property.
It was after a trip to the remote beach later that year with his three sons, when Burch decided to purchase the resort with McBride. The two spent $30 million to renovate the hostel that was in place at the time and turned it into a five-star resort that opened in 2015.
“I bought it for my children and as a piece of something that I hope we can preserve and give back to the community,” Burch said in an interview with Business Jet Traveler in 2015. “When you’re in a place where the palette is so beautiful, you can do things that you can’t do in other places: build a spa under a waterfall, go to places where no others have been, have a butler in every room.”
Burch’s acquisition of the once famed surfing beach has been handled with care. His goal has always been to make sure the property is in perfect harmony with the island environment it sits on and the Sumbanese people. With Nihi, Burch is preserving the rich history of the island by encompassing all the island has to offer. He is doing this by not just the island excursions and renovations; Burch has employed a staff that is made up of 98% warm and welcoming locals. This has also made Nihi Sumba Resort Sumba’s largest employer and has had a positive impact on island life and the community.
As well as providing employment to the island, The Sumba Foundation was established to ameliorate the consequences of poverty on the island. Graves and Sean Downs, a US tech millionaire who visited Sumba on a surfing vacation, created the foundation in 2001. Burch has since taken over and uses the profits made by the resort to donate money back to the island and provide things such as clean water to the residents, maintain maternity clinics, improve education and feeding the school children — among other things. The foundation estimates that about 20,000 islanders are currently benefitting from its work.
“I’m not making any money on this,” Burch explains. “It’s all going back into the community.” According to the Nihi website, “The Foundation believes that each and every one of us has a responsibility to better use our position and resources to help people living in poverty realize their needs and vision of a better world.”
Burch has said that Nihi has turned into more than he expected. He said that he enjoys the island and that it’s a great place to be alone with his children.
This is 1,000 times more satisfying than accomplishing other things, when you see the pleasure in your guests,” Burch said. “It really makes me happy. And now we can share it with other people.”
Burch also has the ability to find the nexus between innovation and implementation as well as to realize unusual success. This he credits to both his intuitive understanding of consumer behavior as well as experience using superior sourcing infrastructure and direct-to-consumer channels.
When asked about the idea behind Burch Creative Capital, Burch describes it as his desire to use his knowledge and resources to help other entrepreneurs with great ideas. “That eventually led to my company today, Burch Creative Capital. We match ideas with funding to bring extraordinary possibilities to the world,” he states. Currently it is supporting the growth of a wide range of lifestyle and consumer products, spanning from retail, apparel and home furnishings to the hospitality, organic foods and technology industries. The portfolio of Burch Creative Capital has recently expanded to include introductions of ED by Ellen DeGeneres, Cocoon9, Nihi Sumba Island (formerly Nihiwatu) and TRADEMARK.
Burch’s domestic and international real estate investments include the partnership with architect Philippe Stark and hotelier Alan Faena in Argentina to redevelop an underutilized parcel of land into the Faena Hotel + Universe.
As of 2012, Burch has also been the owner of both the Nihi Sumba Island as well as Nihi Hotels, which he owns together with James McBride, both partner as well as CEO of the latter. The acquisition turned Nihi into one of the world’s best resorts as it brought about a substantial and unique investment that lead to the hotel’s success while at the same time remaining in harmony with the environment of the Sumbanese people.
Nihi Sumba Island is associated with a rare and fascinating story. It begins centuries ago, when its ancestors, the ‘Marapu’, landed on its secluded beach, Nihiwatu. It is believed that the Marapu spirit is a benevolent force that has remained on the island, providing protection of the way of life as well as being an attraction to those who wish to honor and propagate the rich heritage and stories of the past and present Sumbanese people.
Nihiwatu literally means “mortar stone,” and the beach was given that name by the early settlers due to its isolated rock formation along the tide. The story of the acquisition actually begins in 1988, when Claude and Peter Graves visited on their quest for the perfect wave. This visit gave rise to the vision to create a resort that would maintain the beauty and mystery of Sumba while sharing it with those who would truly appreciate it. The Graves decided that the resort would be called Nihiwatu after its surrounding legacy.
Burch found out about Nihi’s reputation as having unregulated freedom and beauty in 2012 when he was told that Claude needed help to expand the resort. He then contacted the South African-born hotelier and friend James McBride, to visit Sumba. McBride was the President of YTL Hotels in Singapore at the time.
McBride is a global hotelier, and his twenty-five-year professional career encompasses leading some of the world’s leading hotels. He was recently recognized as “One to Watch” by Bloomberg Businessweek’s Bloomberg 50 and awarded Independent Hotelier of the World by Hotels magazine. His partnership with Burch in 2012 marked his transition to hotel entrepreneur.
- Nihi has been voted the #1 Hotel in the World in both 2016 and 2017 by readers of Travel + Leisure magazine for its World’s Best Awards.
- In addition to his long background as an entrepreneur and active investor across a wide range of industries, Burch has also has contributed to the rise of multiple technology and luxury brands, including Jawbone, Tory Burch, Poppin and Voss Water. He is a former board member of Tory Burch, Guggenheim Capital and The Continuum Group.
- Burch’s entrepreneurial success dates back to his undergraduate years at Ithaca College in 1976. He and his brother Bob invested $2,000 to start Eagle’s Eye apparel, which is a business they expanded before selling it to Swire Group for $60 million.
- The partnership with Ellen DeGeneres and the launch of the lifestyle brand ED by Ellen DeGeneres was announced in July 2014. Burch is currently supporting the development of other lifestyle and consumer products brands including BaubleBar, Blink Health, Brad’s Raw Foods, Chubbies, Little Duck Organics, and Soludos.
- Burch was on the Rothman Institute Orthopedic Foundation board and a former president of The Pierre Hotel Co-op Board. He has helped fund research and philanthropic initiatives of Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, NYU Langone, The Sumba Foundation, The China Association of Social Work, The Child Welfare League of China and The Henry Street Settlement.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-burch-116531123/,
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/J-Christopher-Burch/132894256747216, and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jchristopherburch/.
