The QI Group is a diversified multinational conglomerate. What does QI Services do? QI Services functions as the registered legal entity for the company’s Malaysian operational headquarters. With a presence spanning more than 30 countries, this entity coordinates operations ranging from wellness products to luxury retail across continents. This geographical and market diversity has built a resilient business model that adapts to changing market conditions while maintaining growth.
The company’s broad reach enables it to implement impactful sustainability programs at scale. From eco-friendly resorts to energy-efficient buildings, environmental responsibility guides its business decisions. These programs extend beyond environmental concerns into community development and education, creating positive impacts in the communities where it operates.
Under the stewardship of founders Vijay Eswaran and Joseph Bismark, the QI Group has grown from a startup into a global enterprise. Their commitment to principled leadership and innovative business strategies has driven success across the company’s diverse portfolio since 1998. The founders continue to guide the privately held organization’s direction — Eswaran as executive chairman and Bismark as deputy chairman — working alongside their board of directors to shape strategic decisions.
The Asian financial crisis of 1998 might have deterred most entrepreneurs from launching a new venture, but for Eswaran and Bismark, it presented an opportunity. The two founders established the QI Group during this tumultuous period, with an understanding of Asia’s emerging markets and an unwavering confidence in their vision for a different kind of global corporation.
What Is the Work of QI Group?
QI Group’s work encompasses diverse business activities and investments across multiple sectors worldwide. The conglomerate focuses on investments in wellness and lifestyle, education, travel and leisure, luxury goods, and retail.
Through QI Capital, its investment arm, the company maintains investments with portfolio companies throughout Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These investments span financial services, education, telecommunications, luxury goods manufacturing, natural products retail, and hospitality management.
With a workforce exceeding 2,000 individuals representing nearly 50 nationalities, the company enriches its multinational operations with diverse expertise and perspectives.
The direct selling approach eliminates intermediaries, connecting the company directly with consumers. This model opens earning possibilities for individual distributors while creating closer connections between the company and its customers. By removing traditional retail intermediaries, the conglomerate better understands customer needs while offering entrepreneurial opportunities to its distributor network.
Beyond business operations, QI Group significantly contributes to social responsibility through its RYTHM Foundation. The RYTHM Foundation, the company’s social impact initiative, comprises partnerships with over 135 grassroots organizations collaborating on up to 75 projects. The foundation channels 10% of company revenues into three critical areas aligned with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals: educational access for children with special needs and in rural areas, economic empowerment for women, and sustainable rural development.
Diverse Portfolio: Education, Luxury, and Sustainable Hospitality
Quest International University in Perak, Malaysia, is the company’s educational vision in action. Since 2011, QIU has welcomed 15,000 students from 50 countries, creating an international learning hub. The university’s expansion, supported by a $21.48 million (100 million Malaysian ringgits) Sukuk Ijarah program, marks the company’s strategic entry into Malaysia’s capital markets.
The university’s educational philosophy extends beyond traditional academics to embrace a holistic approach. QIU combines classroom learning with real-world experiences, offering students opportunities for extracurricular activities, soft skills development, and valuable clinical and industrial exposure. Its unique technopreneurship training prepares graduates for global marketplace challenges.
This international student mix creates a dynamic learning environment fostering cross-cultural understanding and global perspectives, reflecting the company’s multicultural values in education.
The company manages two prestigious Swiss watch brands in the luxury sector: Bernhard H. Mayer and Cimier. These heritage timepiece manufacturers represent the pinnacle of Swiss watchmaking tradition and craft.
Bernhard H. Mayer, a brand dating back to 1871, produces exclusive timepieces and fine jewelry under QI Group’s stewardship. The brand combines traditional Swiss watchmaking expertise with contemporary design sensibilities, creating collections that appeal to modern luxury consumers while honoring horological heritage.
Cimier celebrated its centennial in 2024 and continues producing opulent timepieces that merge traditional Swiss watchmaking techniques with contemporary design elements.
On the retail front, the company operates Down to Earth, an all-natural products chain in Hawaii specializing in organic and vegetarian products. The chain actively participates in community education through cooking classes and nutrition seminars in schools and hospitals, aligning with the company’s wellness and sustainable living mission.
The company has ventured into travel and leisure, managing boutique hotels and resorts in Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Turkey, focusing on eco-tourism.
Prana Resort Nandana in Koh Samui, Thailand, stands out among the company’s hospitality ventures. The resort’s dedication to eco-friendly practices earned it the prestigious gold rating from the Green Hotel Standard, a certification granted by Thailand’s Department of Environmental Quality Promotion. Prana’s innovative approach to sustainability blends luxury with environmental consciousness. Guests experience cutting-edge green initiatives, from paperless check-ins to QR code menus, while savoring dishes prepared with locally sourced ingredients — all part of the resort’s strategy to minimize its environmental impact while maximizing guest satisfaction.
Multicultural Impact on Business Success
The QI Group’s workforce demographics tell a story of diversity in action: employees ranging from 19 to 65 years old, with 47% women representation, bring varied perspectives to community service. It offers long-term stability, with many employees having served for over 20 years.
“When you grow up with so much diversity all around you, it is natural to develop a certain depth and range of thinking,” stated Eswaran. “My father was a civil servant with the Malaysian government who was transferred frequently all over the country, so I went to around nine different schools by the time I graduated high school. I studied in the U.K. and the USA. I worked in different parts of the U.S. and Canada before moving back to Asia, and once I started my journey as an entrepreneur in the late ’90s, I also lived in the Philippines and Hong Kong.”
He continued, “I firmly believe that this background and environment of diversity gave me the insights that eventually helped me build a multinational business that today has a global footprint. Today, I consider myself a global citizen since I can call several countries my home.”
