Kory Thompson is the country manager for the serviced office provider Regus, responsible for 22 centres in the UAE, plus offices in Oman and Kuwait. Originally from Toronto, the 47-year-old Canadian lives with wife, Christie, a teacher, on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. He moved to the UAE in 2006 to work for a hotel consultancy before joining Regus four years ago.
How do you spend your weekend?
I play golf every Friday and Saturday with the same group of guys, at Els Club, Victory Heights. I used to live in Arabian Ranches and I joined because it was the best club. I usually meet my wife for lunch and we maybe go shopping and meet up with friends in the evening. We have no kids so we live a pretty good lifestyle.
How did you become a country manager?
After studying law at university I went straight into the hotel industry. It became a passion. At 30 I moved to London where I was general manager of independent boutique hotels until 2006. I moved to the UAE to hotel consultancy Roya International and was involved in the opening of the Monarch Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road (since rebranded as The H Hotel). I was managing director of Mandara Spa for five years, looking after the Middle East, Europe, Africa, India, Maldives, until they decided to shut shop in this region and run everything out of Kuala Lumpur. At the same time I was approached for the Regus job, which had a lot of similarities to hotels. We’re doing short-term and long-term, but a room with two desks instead of two beds, so it was an easy transition. It’s all about yielding the occupancy of our space.
What is your go-to gadget?
An iPad. First thing in morning I check for reports. For the first hour I’ve done more than I’ll do in two hours in the office. It’s beside me non-stop, mainly for personal use.
What was the lowest point of your career?
September 11. I was GM of a hotel in London. When that happened, 30 per cent of our clients were American. How do you deal with 50 people who are traumatised – and the way the whole hotel industry kind of tanked after that? You put aside emotion because you had to deal with people who were really feeling it and could not leave because there were no flights. Rising above it and making the business work at the same time was a challenge we did quite well to overcome, but it was something to really learn from; how it affected the hotel industry and then to see it come back.
What advice would you offer others starting out in your business?
What I always look for when I interview people is passion. A lot is knowing the right person at the right time, but making an impression enough that they’re confident enough to recommend you.
What is your most indulgent habit?
Travel: every long weekend I have to go somewhere. We bought a house in France, just north of Bordeaux and even if we can go there for two days we’re doing it. I’m also going to Thailand next to play golf, so my wife says “your indulgences are travel, golf, and travelling for golf”.
What do you have on your desk at work?
My two phones – a Blackberry Passport and iPhone 6S, a Lenovo laptop, pen and notebook. My office can be here today, yesterday it was our centre in The Greens; tomorrow it will be Festival City. So I’m flexible.
What car do you drive?
A blue Jaguar XJ. It has the nicest interior, is comfortable and drives soundly. They had good deals. It was a treat. I’d sold the Ranches house and got a bonus. My wife says she feels safe in it.
What can’t you live without?
I was going to say my golf clubs, but … my wife. We married in 2015.
How do you achieve a work-life balance?
I try to turn off the Blackberry as soon as I get home. If I see it flashing I’ll look before I go to bed but I really shut down from 7 o’clock and at weekends. The business is closed during those times anyway. Of course there are times you’re going to have to do extra but it’s important for people to shut down. You’re more productive if you feel refreshed. If you’re thinking about work all the time then you can’t keep up and there’s something not right.
What books are you reading?
None. I do a lot of Netflix. My wife and I watch a series and just binge watch. I love documentaries. The only books I’ve really enjoyed are autobiographies.
If you could swap jobs with anyone who would it be and why?
Tim Clark (the president of Emirates). The airline industry fascinates me and I love to travel. Professional golfer is not realistic — I’ve a better chance to get Tim’s job.
business@thenational.ae
