Day in the Life: Capital Club manager steps it up a level

As the general manager of the Capital Club in DIFC, Ian Palmer, spends much of his day building relationships - whether it's with club members, staff, or the establishment's landlord.

Ian Palmer spends most of his day building relationships at his job as the general manager of the Captial Club in the DIFC area. Christopher Pike / The National

Ian Palmer is the general manager of Capital Club, a private members’ club in the Gate Village in the Dubai International Financial Centre popular with UAE businesspeople. Previously at UK establishments The Club at Café Royal, The Arts Club, Savoy Group and Devonshire Club, the Briton, 43, started his current role earlier this year. He lives close to DIFC with his wife Jean, a marketing director; his nine-year-old daughter is at a UK boarding school.

7am

I get up, have 20 minutes in the pool and then get ready for work. I have a juice from a NutriBullet, then ginger tea and biscuits at work. We’ve a very good pastry chef [at the club] so there’s always something new to taste.

7.45am

I walk to work in 10 minutes, meet all the staff; at any given time there are 40 to 50 in the building. If they need anything I make that part of my plan. Their day is just as important; if they don’t have the tools or support they need how can we, as a team, bring that level of hospitality.

8am

Important emails have to be handled and I’m planning the day, making sure appointments are in line. I meet our executive team, go through what’s happening that day, talk to board members, update on how the club is doing. The club is being updated, an upgrade bringing it to where it needs to be. The club itself, its ethos, is what we’re building on, what the club is known for, which is really about the members and making the offering relevant.

10.30am

My daughter is up for school so I get on FaceTime. We go through what she’s been doing and sometimes do homework together. It’s my opportunity to catch up so we don’t miss each other as much.

11am

We have a team briefing that considers the previous day’s business and we go through our event order for the day, which VIPs we’ve coming in – royalty, celebrities – and overseas guests that visit our members. We have a list of everybody coming. It’s a very personal service.

1pm

At lunchtime I try to keep everything light; a green salad or beef carpaccio, if possible, on the Club Table. That’s a tradition started in the 19th century in Pall Mall private members’ clubs in London. The rule is you sit next to the last person that sat down, so you always meet someone interesting. A club is about connecting people. If I’m on the Club Table with two people who haven’t met and I put them together, quite often they end up doing business. The club provides that private environment. Discretion is No 1; there are many business deals done here. They almost use the club as an incubator.

2.30pm

I walk around DIFC, see what everyone else is doing, check out other restaurants. We know each other. Part of the day is talking with DIFC about what’s changing. Capital Club is a hub; even though the DIFC is our landlord, they look to us to attract other businesses. We’re seen as a selling point.

4pm

We have a meeting about the newsletter, what we’re going to tell members. And we have an events meeting about what’s happening the following week.

5pm

We go through memberships – see who is up for renewal or who is coming in. We look at everything, background, how they’ve been introduced, who has proposed them and who seconded them. It’s about that member joining the community. Do you want to sit and have a conversation with this person? That’s how you create an exclusive and likeable environment. It’s not about net worth – we get entrepreneurs who are starting out.

6pm

Between now and 8pm everybody is coming in. I’m here to greet them. Members are using meeting rooms for private events and public events to which members are invited. We have a tradition every Tuesday that one of our members sponsors an event for all and they showcase their business. I will say a few words to welcome them.

8pm

You’ll often find me in the restaurant. This is the favourite time people come for dinner. Certain members like certain things so we’ll see who is in and send surprises, different amuse bouches. I’m front of house, introducing people. I’ll prob­ably have dinner here. I’ll often say “send whatever you think is going to be good”. I like trying new things – it helps develop the menu.

10pm

I arrive home. Often we're connecting with friends on Facebook. One guilty pleasure is Netflix; you can't beat a bit of Blackadder. If I haven't had time, I go through the news. Because a lot of what we do is about business, we react to what's in the news and often create events around it. With Brexit we had a panel discussion.

Midnight

Bedtime depends on what’s happening here. It will be between midnight and 1am.

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