Services for High-Net-Worth Families and Family Offices
People, Management and Independent Coordination of Private Infrastructure
Very Important Personnel, an international recruitment agency, helps high-net-worth families, business owners and family offices find key professionals, strengthen existing teams and establish reliable systems for managing private infrastructure.
We step in where conventional recruitment or a collection of disconnected service providers is insufficient: appointing a Head of Family Office, building an international household staff team, independently assessing an existing structure, replacing a key employee, relocating a family to or from Dubai, preparing for the yachting season, or delivering a confidential multidisciplinary project.
Through our integrated ecosystem with Catamaran Family Office, a multi-family office, our recruitment expertise is complemented by family office advisory, financial and operational coordination, independent assessment of proposed solutions, and access to specialised external professionals.
We can build the required system from the ground up or discreetly strengthen an existing infrastructure without displacing trusted employees or creating a competing centre of influence.
When We Are Particularly Valuable
Families engage us when they require a key employee for a position of exceptional trust; an existing Family Office needs an independent second opinion; critical information is concentrated in the hands of one person; there is no consolidated view of assets, expenditure and liabilities; external advisers operate in isolation; multiple residences or special assets require professional coordination; or the family is preparing for relocation, succession or another period of transition.
We also act at the request of a trusted adviser, private banker, lawyer, Head of Family Office or owner’s representative when confidential expertise is required beyond the capabilities of the internal team.
Four Areas of Expertise
Executive Search and Household Staff Recruitment
We recruit Heads of Family Office, Chiefs of Staff, Chief Investment Officers, Chief Financial Officers, Investment Directors, analysts, financial controllers, lawyers, compliance specialists, executive and personal assistants, travel coordinators, lifestyle managers and other private-sector professionals.
For private residences and families, we recruit estate and household managers, butlers, waitstaff, nannies, governesses, tutors, private chefs, chauffeurs, security personnel, wardrobe specialists, housekeepers, technical staff and yacht crew.
Our assessment extends beyond professional experience. We evaluate reputation, ethics, maturity, discretion, management style, the ability to operate without unnecessary visibility, and compatibility with the family’s values and culture.
Private Infrastructure
We help organise private residences, household staff teams and related operational processes. Our work may include designing staffing structures, reviewing responsibilities, training teams, developing service standards, implementing reporting systems, monitoring expenditure, managing contractors, and ensuring continuity across critical functions.
Our objective is to make the family’s private infrastructure reliable and predictable so that family members do not have to manage its day-to-day operations themselves.
Family Office Advisory
Together with Catamaran Family Office, we help establish family offices, independently assess existing structures, clarify roles and authority, reduce key-person dependency, implement management reporting, and coordinate external specialists.
Where a family office is already established, we can serve as an independent additional resource: conducting a comprehensive review, supporting the Chief Investment Officer or Chief Financial Officer, assessing service providers, reviewing a specific decision, or delivering a project that does not justify expanding the permanent team.
Matters requiring regulated legal, tax, investment or other professional expertise are referred to the appropriate specialists within Catamaran Family Office and coordinated under the agreed mandate, with due regard to applicable UAE and international requirements.
Special Assets and International Mobility
We support matters involving yachts, multiple residences, international staff and family relocation. We coordinate project participants, timelines, documentation, budgets, service delivery and engagement with specialised advisers.
For yacht owners, our services include crew recruitment, service audits, seasonal preparation, financial coordination and transaction support through specialised brokers, lawyers, surveyors, insurers and other providers.
For relocations to or from Dubai, we help align staffing, property, children’s education, private support, and the work of external immigration, tax, legal and banking advisers within one coordinated process.
If the Family Already Has a Family Office and Trusted Advisers
Most of our clients are not starting from scratch. They already have a Head of Family Office, an investment team, private bankers, lawyers, tax advisers, property managers and personal assistants.
We do not seek to replace this infrastructure. Our role may be targeted and clearly defined: finding a rare specialist, conducting an independent assessment, testing operational resilience, preparing a replacement for a key employee, addressing a temporary capability gap, or coordinating a specific international project.
The mandate, access to information and boundaries of engagement are agreed in advance. This allows us to strengthen the existing team while preserving its authority, management continuity and the family’s established framework of trust.
Independent Assessment
An independent assessment is particularly valuable before a crisis occurs. It helps determine how well the family is protected against the departure of a key employee, the loss of institutional knowledge, unstructured access to documents, opaque expenditure, conflicts of interest, and excessive dependence on a single bank, asset manager or adviser.
We assess the organisational structure, roles, authority, decision-making processes, payment controls, reporting, document storage, engagement with service providers, functional backup arrangements, and the quality of communication with the owner.
The outcome is a confidential management memorandum setting out priorities, areas of risk and a practical improvement plan. An assessment does not automatically entail replacing the team or transferring all functions to our ecosystem.
How the Mandate Works
Confidential Briefing
We define the objective, participants, access boundaries, success criteria, and communication arrangements with the owner or their authorised representative.
Assessment and Solution Design
We analyse the existing system, identify dependencies, and design the most streamlined workable framework without unnecessarily expanding the number of participants.
Team Selection and Coordination
We engage internal and external specialists only within the approved mandate. Each participant’s role, responsibilities, timeline and access to information are clearly documented.
Implementation and Oversight
The client receives an agreed reporting format, oversight of key decisions, and the option either to conclude the project once the intended outcome has been achieved or transition to ongoing support.
Confidentiality by Design, Not Merely by Contract
Working with private infrastructure requires operational rather than merely declarative confidentiality. We apply the need-to-know principle, separate information flows, restrict the circulation of identifying data, and agree in advance how external specialists will be engaged.
Depending on the mandate, we use NDAs, secure communication channels, restricted-access data rooms, role-based access controls, and specific protocols for storing and transferring documents.
Very Important Personnel and Catamaran Family Office receive access only to the information required to perform their respective parts of the mandate.
Why Clients Recommend Us
Clients engage us not for the greatest possible number of services, but for our ability to bring the right people together around a complex objective, maintain discretion and deliver a practical, functioning solution.
We understand the distinctions between private residence services, executive and specialist recruitment, family office management, and professional capital coordination. This enables us to keep responsibilities clearly separated while maintaining a complete view of the family’s interests.
Instead of a stream of CVs or a catalogue of products, the client receives a carefully selected group of relevant professionals, a clear mandate, controlled communication, and a solution integrated into the existing infrastructure.
Discuss a Confidential Matter
You may contact us directly or through your Head of Family Office, trusted adviser, lawyer, private banker, personal assistant or another authorised representative.
During the initial consultation, we will determine whether you require a key-person search, an independent assessment, reinforcement of the existing team, support for a special asset, or project-based coordination.