Cinnamon Grand welcomes Dermot Gale as new GM

Cinnamon Grand’s new General Manager Dermot Gale

British national Dermot Gale counts over 40 years in the hospitality industry with stints in some of the leading hotel brands. Prior to this appointment as the General Manager of Cinnamon Grand, the flagship hotel of the Cinnamon brand, Gale was the General Manager of Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, the premier five-star resort in the city. He is also Vice President, John Keells Holdings. 

During his tenure, he led the Hotel to achieve several coveted accolades, including the title of Best Culinary Hotel at the Chefs’ Guild Culinary Awards 2018, Best Five Star City Hotel at the Sri Lanka Tourism Awards 2018, and the property being ranked 11th place in the Top 25 properties in Sri Lanka by Trip Advisor Traveller’s Choice Awards for 2019.

A driven, passionate hotelier, he has worked for various leading hotel brands around the world including France, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, St. Lucia, Barbados, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Maldives. 

Gale began his career in 1989 as a chef in Europe before moving to Bermuda in 1999 where he was appointed as Executive Chef of the Newstead Hotel. During the next decade, he continued working in the post of Executive Chef at various hotels and resorts around the West Indies. 

In 2002, Gale looked to further his expertise by taking on the role of Executive Chef at the then Trans Asia Hotel. Subsequently, he joined the Colombo Plaza Hotel (now Cinnamon Grand) in 2003, where he took on the leadership role of Director Catering – Development and Operations. Then in 2006, Gale joined Cinnamon Island Alidhoo in the Maldives, the first overseas resort to be opened under the ‘Cinnamon’ brand, as Resort Manager. He was responsible for the opening of the resort.

In 2007, he moved to Thailand as the Executive Assistant Manager at the Imperial Queens Park Hotel. Then in 2009, he joined as Executive Assistant Manager at the Amari Watergate, Thailand, before he took on the leadership role of General Manager at the Accor Hotel in Bali, Indonesia, in 2011 and then General Manager at the Centara Hotels & Resorts in 2012. Two years later, he was offered the leading role at Cinnamon’s five-star urban resort, Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, as General Manager.

His zeal for the hospitality industry prompted him to pursue his interest in the culinary field at the age of 15. This fuelled his passion even further and became a career option after winning several awards as a chef. He holds to his credit the achievement of receiving the prestigious “Young Chef of the Year” award presented by AA Rosettes.

Now in his new role, Gale aims to ensure the continuation of services at their existing high standard at Cinnamon Grand, the city’s premier five-star hotel. “I am happy to be back here; this time in a different role and capacity to lead a strong team that has made their mark in the hospitality landscape in Sri Lanka,” he said. Dermot Gale is no stranger to the Grand, having worked as Director Catering at the Hotel from 2003 to 2006. As the new General Manager, in the short term, the reopening of some of the Hotel’s signature restaurants and a host of new ideas to entice diners with a range of F&B offerings are on the cards. Gale is optimistic that once the situation in the country improves, the Hotel will be able to introduce an array of novel dining experiences. 

He reiterates that his work ethics are driven through his ‘three Cs and one D’ values – consistency, communication, caring and discipline. He believes that these attributes will serve the Hotel in keeping its products, people and processes at top-notch. “We are in the people business and it is vital that both external and internal customer experiences are driven through these principles.”

Gale is also responsible for working with Cinnamon Grand in the pre-opening of Cinnamon Life, the newest luxury integrated project undertaken by the John Keells Group. 

A dog lover and fitness enthusiast who loves nature, Gale still enjoys being creative in the kitchen when time permits, as well as experimenting with interior design techniques and exploring the outdoors and travelling.