At least we know what Bruce Buchanan, the head of the Qantas offshoot Jetstar, might be celebrating with when he steps down from the airline later this year: a glass of wine and a tube of cream.
The Marrickville skin cream company Vanessa Megan rushed out an announcement yesterday that it had lured ''one of the youngest and most revered CEOs in Australia'', following the news that Buchanan had resigned from Jetstar.
The former management consultant, already known for his interest in skincare products, explained: ''I have used the product over the last 12 months and have fallen in love with the product and brand.
''When I drink wine [a hazard of building a business involving many partners] I can react with a rash around my eyes, which I used to treat with a steroid cream - I have now happily replaced this with the natural eye cream from Vanessa Megan.''
Buchanan said he was ''excited to be able to help another business … realise its potential throughout Asia''
FROM THE PILOT
The chief executive of Qantas, Alan Joyce, said there was nothing he could do to sway Buchanan from the pull of the skin cream sector.
''It is absolutely a case of Bruce deciding to go,'' Joyce said in a phone hook-up. ''He is an entrepreneur at heart. He is launching a cosmetic range in Asia as part of this, and that is not a joke.''
Joyce continued: ''Bruce is very much on the establishment and doing the deals to get these going. We need to now pause … and now deliver on the growth potential that is there. That doesn't interest him as much.''
Joyce said Qantas would not be putting Vanessa Megan skincare products on the planes, although if ''you put it on Jetstar planes, I'm sure they will charge you a margin for it as well''.