Before the barefoot arrivals, the oceanfront dinners and the serenades beneath the stunning Kokomo sunset, there was mud. Cement. A shy teenager in a hi-vis vest, dodging scaffolding and learning the weight of a mallet long before he ever carried a guest’s suitcase. His name is Kali, and in many ways, he helped build Kokomo Private Island before it ever welcomed its first guest.
Kali arrived on the island in 2014, just 19 years old, a labourer amid the raw bones of a resort that would soon redefine luxury in the South Pacific. “I was nervous,” he admits, “but it felt like a door opening.” That door would become a corridor through trades, departments, and titles, eventually leading to the polished front desk of the Kokomo’s Guest Relations team, where he now greets guests not just by name, but with the kind of warmth that makes them feel as though they’ve returned, not arrived.
From stone layering to landscaping, concreting to carpentry, Kali’s early years on the island were an education in grit. “I didn’t know what I was capable of until Kokomo showed me,” he says. What began as a job turned into a calling, one nurtured by colleagues who offered more than just tools. “They gave me confidence. They saw potential I hadn’t yet recognised in myself.”
When the resort opened in 2017, after years of sweat and salt air, Kali was there with dusty boots and a full heart. “It was emotional,” he says quietly. “To see it finished, knowing you were part of that story. That moment will always stay with me.”
But for Kali, the real transformation began when he swapped construction gloves for a collared shirt and joined the Front Office team. It was a different kind of challenge - less physical, more personal. “Suddenly, I wasn’t just helping build buildings - I was building relationships.”
His promotion to Guest Relations Team Leader in 2022, and then Assistant Front Office Manager in 2023, marked not only professional milestones, but a shift in how he saw himself. “Every guest, every conversation helped me grow. I started believing I could lead. I started believing I could inspire.”
And inspire he does. Kali speaks often of his children - two sons and a daughter - who’ve become his daily motivation. “They’re why I keep pushing forward. I want them to see what’s possible. I want them to be proud.” He talks of his journey not in terms of personal achievement, but in ripples - how encouragement, once given to him, must now be passed on. “Support changed my life. So, I give it back, every chance I get.”
At Kokomo, team spirit isn’t just a slogan - it’s an inheritance. Raised in a Fijian village rooted in respect and community; Kali sees those same values mirrored in his work. “Here, we treat each other like family. That’s why guests feel so at home, it’s genuine. We want them to feel cared for, the way we care for each other.”
Ask Kali what Kokomo means to him, and he won’t hesitate. “It’s my second home. A place where hard work is honoured. Where growth is possible. Where kindness is currency.” He smiles, wide and generous. “I started out building walls. Now I help people feel welcome. It’s a good feeling.”
He has advice for the younger staff just starting out - those standing where he once did, unsure of their path. “Face every challenge. Don’t be afraid to learn something new. Be humble. Be kind. If you work with heart, good things come back.”
There’s something quietly poetic about Kali’s story - a full-circle journey from the resort’s foundations to its front-facing soul. It’s the kind of narrative that rarely makes it into glossy brochures but is felt, deeply, by every guest he welcomes. You may not know his story when you arrive. But if you’re lucky, you’ll feel it in the way your bags are carried, your name remembered, your coffee served with a smile that says, you matter.
At Kokomo, Kali is a quiet reminder that the real magic lies not just in the destination but in the people who built it and stayed.