Dekeyser & Friends Foundation

Bobby spent his childhood in Austria, Belgium and Germany and before becoming an entrepreneur was a professional soccer player. In 1990 he founded DEDON with the idea of working with family and friends to produce beautiful handicraft products. After inventing a new fiber, DEDON soon revolutionized the outdoor furniture market and is today the market leader in the outdoor luxury segment. In 2009, Bobby founded the Dekeyser&Friends Foundation.

Florian is the founding CEO of the Dekeyser&Friends Foundation and an educator, political philosopher and social entrepreneur. Stemming from a German artist family, he grew up in Germany and Spain. Before starting Dekeyser&Friends Florian worked as a freelance journalist, as a project manager in Asia, taught international politics classes, and organized conferences on the EU’s foreign policy in Germany, the US, the UK and Romania.

Daniel grew up in Switzerland. He received degrees in both Medicine and Business Administration and works part-time as a general practitioner. In addition, Daniel advises various companies and start-ups from the hotel and airline industries and is a DEDON shareholder. Before being on the Dekeyser&Friends Board, Daniel was a member of the Foundation’s Council of Inspirators.

Hervé grew up on a farm close to Strasbourg, France. In 2000, at the age of 24, he moved to Cebu, the Philippines, to set up DEDON’s manufacturing facility, which was to address the recurring problems with the company’s quality. Starting with seven employees, Hervé spurred the growth of DEDON Cebu within a span of eight years, providing fair and gainful employment to 3,600 employees. He is now CEO of DEDON.

Oya grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. She studied Interior Design at London Metropolitan University in the UK and afterwards started one of Istanbul’s biggest interior design showrooms importing indoor and outdoor furniture from all over the world. Oya opened an interior design office in 1997 in downtown Istanbul and since then has been designing houses, restaurants, offices and customized furniture together with her team from “O Design”.

Lotte grew up in a village close to Lüneburg, Germany. Before joining Dekeyser&Friends she studied Business Administration at the European Business Academy in Madrid and at the University of Mannheim. During her studies she worked for Continental, S.A. and Siemens, S.A. in Barcelona in the areas of Human Resources and Quality. Lotte enjoys riding horses, running and dancing, as well as getting to know different countries and cultures.

Katherin has lived, studied and worked in Germany, Scotland and Latin America. She did a Bachelor in Philosophy and Economics on a scholarship from the Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft and later graduated with a Masters degree in International Strategy and Economics from the University of St. Andrews. During her studies she focused on topics in the area of Development Economics and Corporate Social Responsibility.