Cambridge Family Enterprise Group - 17 Business Leaders of 2017 Cambridge Family Enterprise Group - 17 Business Leaders of 2017

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Cambridge Family Enterprise Group - 17 Business Leaders of 2017 Cambridge Family Enterprise Group - 17 Business Leaders of 2017

Will Deague

Will
DEAGUE

40 | 5th Generation

CEO,

ASIAN PACIFIC GROUP

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

INTRAPRENEUR

Will Deague thinks big and minds the details. The 5th generation CEO of Asian Pacific Group (APG) pilots a helicopter to work in Melbourne from Portsea. Before hopping into a SMART car for a site visit to one of APG’s eco-friendly, heritage-sensitive, multi-use property development projects, he scans several hotel registers, looking for ways to delight his guests and residents.

The $500 million Art Series boutique chain Will Deague founded in 2008 now operates six award-winning regional hotels, including one ranked in Melbourne’s top five. They also serve as celebrity residences, contributing to the local art scene; each hotel is a mini art museum dedicated to a great Australian contemporary artist.

In 2008, Will Deague’s vision was to unite his family’s passion for art with a business strategy that would countervail the boom/bust cycles in their industry. Founded in 1867, APG is a property development company that has holdings in a range of operating companies from telecommunications to storage facilities. He restructured in 2011 and bet on Art Series Hotel Group, doubling revenues within a year. APG is still expanding, with 600 apartments recently completed as part of the Whitehorse Towers complex in Box Hill, Melbourne. Brisbane’s first six-star hotel will open in 2018 on the banks of the Brisbane River, on the doorstep of the CBD.

Will Deague is active with the charity, Million Dollar Lunch, in support of the Children’s Cancer Foundation, and Art Series is a significant supporter of other cancer fighting initiatives.