OUR TEAM
managing & Creative Director
CAIO XERRI-ALVES
Meet our founder, Caio Xerri Alves—a world traveller, cultural explorer, and design storyteller. Brazil-born and Dubai-based, Caio left Brazil in 2000 and has spent the last 25 years journeying across continents, from London to Perth to the Middle East, weaving global influences into bold, narrative-driven interiors.
Since relocating to Dubai in 2005, he has spent 20 years shaping the city’s design and hospitality scene. With over a decade in leadership roles across international organisations,
Caio brings together creative direction, operational insight, and hospitality experience like no other. His unique background in hotel management and aviation laid the foundation for BLAK Interiors—built on empathy, precision, and a passion for elevating spaces.
Caio holds a BA (Hons) in Interior Design from the prestigious KLC School of Design (University of Brighton) and is a BIID Registered Interior Designer®, recognised by the British Institute of Interior Design. He is also a founding member of the Brazilian Business Council UAE, bridging cultures through design and diplomacy.
With a creative lens shaped by the architectural richness of Brazil and the modern spirit of the Middle East, Caio’s mission is simple: to improve the world—one thoughtfully designed space at a time.
Interior Designer
ISSA KABBAS
Meet Issa Kabbas—our precision‑first Interior Designer and dependable project wingman. Syrian‑born and Dubai‑based, Issa turns millimetres into momentum, translating concept into craft with methodical rigor. Trained across interior‑architecture disciplines, he thrives at the intersection of space planning, material curation, and photoreal 3D, bringing clients into the room before it’s built.
At BLAK, Issa pairs obsessive detailing (“Mr OCD,” lovingly) with calm leadership on site—coordinating suppliers, aligning drawings, and making sure every tolerance respects both design intent and buildability. His toolkit spans technical documentation, joinery packages, and finishes schedules that keep contractors honest and programmes on track.
He joined BLAK Interiors as an Interior Designer, bringing a studio‑ready process for mapping workflows, tracking RFIs, and closing loops fast. Today, he leads packages from schematic through handover, partnering closely with our project managers to land refined, resilient interiors.
He’s especially strong in kitchens and wardrobes, where ergonomics, clearances, and hardware work as beautifully as they look. Expect consistent reveals and lighting that flatters materials and people. His ethos: draw with intent, build with care, leave nothing to chance.
PA TO THE MD / JUNIOR INTERIOR DESIGNER
ALLYNAH DALISAY
Allynah Dalisay keeps BLAK humming—part organisational powerhouse, part emerging designer. Filipino‑born and Dubai‑based, she serves as PA to the Managing Director while developing as a Junior Interior Designer, balancing calendars, contractors, and CAD in the same steady week.
Educated at the University of Santo Tomas, she brings a classic design foundation and a PIID‑aligned mindset to every brief—clear eyes, careful documentation, and empathy for how clients actually live. Her days orbit around the engine room of the studio: shepherding proposals, preparing meeting packs, logging decisions, and nudging tasks so momentum never slips.
On projects, Allynah supports material libraries, mood boards, and base plans, turning ideas into precise deliverables—layouts, schedules, and annotated mark‑ups that make the next decision easy. She’s fluent in the delicate art of follow‑through, from supplier chase‑downs to final‑file hygiene.
Her superpower is order with warmth: the right note at the right time, a calendar that protects deep work, and a calm tone that keeps teams aligned. Away from the studio, she documents design references with a curator’s eye, feeding the library with practical, budget‑savvy options clients actually love.
JUNIOR ARCHITECT
RODRIGO REBOLLEDA
Rodrigo Rebolleda bridges studio craft and site reality. Argentine by heritage and Dubai‑based, our Junior Architect trained for seven years at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), where he sharpened a hands‑on approach to tectonics, proportion, and human scale.
At BLAK, Rodrigo supports design from first sketch to final snag—drafting clean plans and sections, developing joinery details, and coordinating with engineers so aesthetics and services move as one. He is equally comfortable interrogating a layout on screen or measuring tolerances on site, translating designer intent into shop drawings contractors can actually build.
Part‑time aircrew with Flydubai, Rodrigo brings aviation‑grade discipline to architecture: checklists, brevity, systems thinking. That rigor shows up in his drawing hygiene, his sequencing of trades, and his instinct for keeping risk off the programme.
Curious and collaborative, he’s the teammate who asks the useful question at the right time—then turns the answer into better drawings. Outside the office, he sketches cities and studies fixtures—the small decisions that make rooms humane—then brings those insights back to the next drawing set. It shows in the work.
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT
JASMIE JACOB
Every studio needs a financial north star—ours is Jasmie Puthukkeril Jacob. As Senior Accountant (and unofficial CFO), she anchors budgets, contracts, and cash flow so creativity has a firm footing. With multi‑sector experience in the UAE, including senior roles at RBIC Group, she blends big‑picture controls with daily accuracy.
Jasmie brings the disciplines of reconciliation, forecasting, and VAT compliance into a designer’s world—translating scope into numbers, and numbers into decisions. She negotiates payment schedules, monitors project profitability, and builds dashboards that keep the leadership team one step ahead.
Calm, meticulous, and security‑minded, she is our first line of defence against billing errors and phishing schemes—triple‑checking vendor details, validating approvals, and keeping clean audit trails. Her approach protects relationships as much as margins: clear terms, fair processes, and no surprises.
She partners with clients and contractors—aligning milestones, flagging exposure early, and structuring approvals so projects stay fluid when variables shift. Beyond spreadsheets, she mentors the team in financial literacy, turning scopes, fees, and terms into plain language so everyone makes better choices.
PROJECT MANAGER
ADHEESH JOSEPH
Execution is where ideas grow up—this is Adheesh Joseph’s arena. Born and raised in Dubai with strong Indian roots, our Project Manager blends engineering know‑how with deep familiarity with local authorities, contractors, and codes.
Adheesh’s background in electrical/mechanical environments informs a pragmatic, services‑aware approach to interior architecture. He builds programmes that respect reality, orchestrates trades with tact, and keeps site diaries that read like a single source of truth. From DCD and municipality submissions to shop‑drawing reviews and method statements, he turns compliance into momentum.
Unflappable under pressure, he is the calm in our storms—resetting sequences, clearing roadblocks, and protecting quality when timelines tighten. His meetings are short, his minutes actionable, and his snag lists thorough.
He is a builder of trust as much as programmes—walking clients through technical decisions without jargon and aligning contractors around crisp deliverables. When issues arise, Adheesh solves them at source: a clarified detail, a resequenced task, a proactive approval. The outcome is predictable progress and handovers that feel effortless.
PROJECT QUANTITY SURVEYOR / COORDINATOR
VINCENT LOUIE DERPO
Vincent Louie Derpo keeps our numbers—and our sites—honest. An Electrical Engineer turned Project Quantity Surveyor/Coordinator, he pairs technical fluency with commercial discipline to deliver projects that land on time and on budget.
With four‑plus years on site, Vincent sees the story behind every figure: how a specification affects procurement, how a detail influences labour, where a sequence can save a week. He compiles BOQs, vets quotations, and runs value‑engineering exercises that protect performance without diluting design.
His electrical design background means he speaks the language of subcontractors and inspectors—authority approvals, load schedules, and as‑builts included. That same precision shows up in his tracking: variations captured, claims evidenced, and programme impacts measured before they spread.
On site, he is a quiet force—coordinating subcontractors, aligning shop drawings, and stress‑testing programmes so claims don’t snowball. In the office, his spreadsheets read like maps: clear scope lines, contingency logic, and live cost‑to‑complete. Ask Vincent what something ‘really’ costs, and you’ll get a number—and the plan to keep it there. That discipline protects the design.
