From Banking To Bear Hugs: Mike Alexander Is Crafting A Snow-Clad Hospitality Empire In Niseko

Photo Credit: Mike Alexander

MIKE Alexander may have made a fortune in the fast-paced world of investment banking, but his eyes only really light up when he talks about a certain polar bear – and the temperature of his indoor Japanese pool.

“I like it at 34.2 degrees,” he says of the individually adjusted heated swimming facility, part of a magical five-bedroom property he built on the snow-bound slopes of Niseko in Hokkaido, Japan. Others like it hotter. “There’s a world-famous F1 driver and a celebrity soccer star who both have their preferences,” he says of two of his better-known guests at The Residence by Seasons Niseko. “It’s all part of the service.”

The bear is another story. It stands in the corner of The Residence’s luxurious living room – stuffed and inspired by Bundaberg Rum, once a favorite tipple – and speaks to his belief that true hospitality, at whatever level of luxury, only comes when a property feels like a home.

“Bear was my nickname at school,” says Mike. “And once I used to favor the odd rum.” These days he prefers his subterranean wine cellar that opens to the touch in the basement of The Residence to reveal classic vintages hand-picked to match the Niseko climate.

Other luxurious touches to the ski-in property include a five-zone sound system complete with DJ decks, an eight-seat cinema, an authentic pizza oven, a sauna, vast lawns, and sweeping views of the surrounding mountain ranges and ski fields. An international chalet concierge team offers a complimentary driver, chef, and chalet manager for an unparalleled experience.

“I started out intending to build a holiday home in Niseko,” he says, as the powder snow falls on the slopes outside. “What I actually built was a haven for anyone who loves to ski, enjoys luxury and values their privacy.”

A Background In Banking

Mike Alexander hit the ground running in Australia as a youthful banker at a company that was later to become JP Morgan, propelling him to New York in the early nineties. Stints at Deutsche Bank and other top-drawer investment houses followed until he eventually became CEO of Jefferies Group Asia in Hong Kong, where he still has a home. But it’s the hospitality that excites him now and an attention to detail that is worthy of any top-class hotel group. “The Residence started out as a holiday home for my family,” he says. “And that’s what it feels like – home.”

And what a home. Mike first visited Niseko after hearing of its mythical Japanese powder through his former role as an investment banker, which involved frequent trips to Tokyo. There, instead of the usual broker chat about skiing in Whistler, Canada, Mike kept hearing about the much closer Niseko snow, which was far more plentiful and lighter than almost anywhere in the world. “I just fell in love with it straight away,” he says. “When my boys were young, we really learned to ski in Niseko. I love the culture in Japan; the food is amazing, and it’s a healthy lifestyle.”

The Good Life

Life has been good to Mike Alexander, largely due to his ability to pick a diverse set of start-up winners, including Block.one, the blockchain tech play globally famous for its record initial fund-raising of US$4.3 billion.

Photo Credit: Mike Alexander

Today, his company investment portfolio includes properties at Seasons Niseko, an 11-venue bar and restaurant chain called Mott 32, and the Mandala Group of properties in Bali. Along the way, he has fostered the world’s first multi-brand B2B virtual showroom platform, Ordre, and a host of Web3 companies, including BlockTrust, which is revolutionizing how big brands interact with consumers through tokenization, micro-blogging, and live events.

“BlockTrust takes big brands into the Web3 commerce revolution, allowing them to properly secure consumer data and offering them live access to promoting their products to billions of consumers in real-time,” he says.

Picking Winners

Mike Alexander’s ability to pick a winner is all about his focus on the front player in targeted businesses, matched to a diverse portfolio. “The first lesson I learned when I started out was not to put all your eggs in one basket,” he says. “Don’t concentrate the risk into one play, even if you think that’s the best trade.”

His secret sauce to investing has been knowing who and what you are actually investing in. “There’s two individuals that are key to any start-up,” he says. “There’s the front person, the CEO, and there’s whoever’s running the back end, the COO.” Know your partner, he says. “Before investing, I spend at least 100 hours with the founder of the business, both in a social and a business environment. I need to know who they really are.” This pays dividends down the road, he says.

“The most successful businesses I’ve known have all pivoted from their first proposal, every single one,” he says. “It’s the nature of the tech world. I’ve got to get the confidence that when that pivot happens, the CEO has the ability to drive that change at precisely the right time.

“The second factor is that he or she is trustworthy enough not to dilute shareholders’ interests under the new paradigm, and I can only discover this if I really know who that person is as an individual. The people I consistently try to find are those that get this – and that’s not apparent unless you put in the time.”

Passion Over Projections

Today, investment, tech, and tokens – while keeping him busy in business – are not what makes him tick, says Mike. His heart is in Niseko, where he has since built a second property, the smaller but similarly luxurious Seasons Retreat, and where he is about to embark on building what he calls “Asia’s best apartments” – no small goal. The new $70 million complex will have views of Niseko’s Mt Yotei and consist of 20 apartments, a 70-seat Japanese restaurant, a beauty salon, and a bar.

Prices for the apartments will range from US$1.5m for one bedroom up to $15m for five bedrooms, each with the same level of ultra-luxury as the Retreat. “I’m doing five-bedroom apartments with wine cellars, movie theaters, outside onsens, and gun-barrel views,” he says. “Some will have proper restaurant-style kitchens so guests can bring in chefs to cook for them.”

He’s also keen to start promoting Niseko’s non-ski seasons. “This is Japan, which has 4 distinct seasons, and summer in Niseko among the natural forests and mountains is absolutely superb,” he says. “It truly is one of the most magical places on earth.”

His drive to build and drive luxury in Niseko is what gets him out of bed. “I did very well as an investment banker,” he says, “and I’m very grateful for those years. But anyone who meets me today is surprised that I spent my life in finance. I should have been an entrepreneur from the beginning – building, designing, and envisioning Seasons Niseko has been my overarching passion and one that gives me the greatest satisfaction.”

Written in partnership with Tom White