He was born on June 15, 1935, in the Saridede neighborhood of Mecitözü district of Çorum, as the second of seven siblings. Father Kemalettin is engaged in trade, mother Sefure Hanım is a housewife.
He attended primary school in Mecitözü Atatürk Primary School and graduated in 1948. Since there was no middle school or high school in Mecitözü at that time, he could not continue his secondary education, his father started business with Kemalettin Bey.
The year is 1959. He met Hatice Gani, who was originally from Çorum but was born in Ankara and lives in Ankara, on an occasion and unites her life with him. He moves to Ankara in the same year. From now on, he will continue his struggle and his life in Ankara.
On May 11, 1960, he started to work as a civil servant in the General Directorate of Rural Affairs, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Construction and Settlement in Ankara. From his marriage to Hatice Hanım, his daughter Serap was born in 1963 and his son Serhat in 1970.
Rafet Kayış is determined, his goal is to reach high positions in the institution he works for. For this purpose, he graduated from Cyprus Bayraktar Secondary School and Ankara Yenimahalle Mustafa Kemal High School in Küçükesat in 1963. After graduating from high school, he is promoted to the Assistant Branch Manager.
In general, everyone in the family is engaged in trade. Rafet Bey was occasionally engaged in trade during his civil service period, as he left the institution he was working in in 1968 and founded SERAP OTO, the name of his daughter, and started the Ford brand auto spare parts trade. Rafet KAYIS is now in business.
Since their work is also good, it is necessary to take new steps gradually. After a certain period of time, a new breakthrough period begins for Rafet Kayış. He was a partner in the establishment of the paper and box factory, formerly known as "ÇOPİKAŞ" and now "OLMUKSA", which is still in operation in Çorum, and has been a member of the board of directors in this company for many years.
He pioneered the establishment of HİZMETGAZ in 1980 and worked as the founding partner of HİZMETGAZ for many years.
In 1987 he goes to Italy. Together with his three friends, he buys the machinery of the bankrupt factory, which produces 120 tons of paper per day, operating in the city of PERUGIA, Italy, and transports them to Çorum. He establishes the Çorum Hitit Paper Factory with thirty percent of shares and becomes a member of the board of directors. The factory is still in operation and works under the name of "GURSOYLAR PAPER FACTORY".
After selling his shares in the factory of which he was the manager in 1989, he entered the tourism sector by opening the hotel called KANDELOR, which he built himself on 12.07.1992 in Alanya, with his son Serhat Kayış's education in the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management at Bilkent University. They still continue with their son Serhat Bey.
Today, it still continues its commercial activities in the field of tourism with three four-star hotels under the name of XPERIA group.
She loves to travel, read books whenever she has the opportunity, go to the theater and cinema, walk around the countryside with her loved ones and have picnics. Rafet Kayis is a strong Fenerbahce fan. He loves watching sports competitions on TV.
Rafet KAYIS has not used alcohol or cigarettes throughout his life. He does not like nightlife at all, says that the secret of success is honest, moral and hard work, and imposes this on all his employees.