Dixon has major heart surgery?
 

If the article below is true, G Dixon will not have his hands on the controls at qantas for at least a couple of months! Which begs the question, who's going to be running the show in the new year with all the industrial turmoil that is likely to occur this month?


January 01, 2008 12:00am

QANTAS boss Geoff Dixon is in St Vincent's Private Hospital after major surgery.

Sources told The Daily Telegraph the high-profile chief who joined Qantas 14 years ago had a heart bypass operation.

It was understood Mr Dixon may have been operated on as recently as last Friday, although another St Vincent's source said this may have been a reference to a different Sydney identity.

"You'd be amazed how many high profile people have been through emergency this week," the source said.

Qantas refused to comment, saying it did not comment on its executives' health.

"We have nothing to disclose," a spokesperson said.

Qantas shareholders might think otherwise, as bosses of Mr Dixon's calibre must have regular physicals and attract "key man insurance" to mitigate the risk of them falling ill or worse.

The sudden absence of an experienced and highly-regarded CEO may create doubt in investors' minds about a company's immediate financial viability.
And Mr Dixon is an exceptionally well-respected businessman.

In addition to his duties at Qantas he occupies a non-executive director's seat on the boards of James Packer's Consolidated Media and Crown.
He also sits on the board of the Business Council of Australia, which is one of Australia's most powerful lobby groups.

It is not known whether his surgery was a scheduled procedure or otherwise.
A noted fitness enthusiast, Mr Dixon takes almost daily exercise, including morning runs.

But 2007 has been particularly demanding for the one-time journalist from Wagga Wagga who turns 69 in 2008.
For the first half of the year he was embroiled, along with the Qantas board and senior management, in a bizarre stand-off with many of its shareholders who could not be convinced they should accept a foreign private equity group's $5.45 a share takeover offer for the Flying Kangaroo.

During the offer period, Qantas chairwoman Margaret Jackson was admitted to hospital with deep vein thrombosis.

Mr Dixon, who would have earned up to $70 million in the event of a successful takeover, kept a slightly lower profile but maintained a punishing work schedule, including seemingly incessant rounds of enterprise bargaining negotiations with Qantas employees

Bit like Alice in wonderland, (should have read Wizard of Oz, I don't know my fairy tales :ooh:) does the man have a heart?

No he is a cybernetic organism: living tissue over a metal endoskeleton.

Quote: "It is not known whether his surgery was a scheduled procedure or otherwise" and yet they conclude it was "major" surgery? :confused: Gee journos are great - they either know what the procedure was or they are speculating

Hospital staff reported his last words going in as " I"LL BE BACK !" for some reason it was with an austrian accent

It is rumored that the real reason he's in there is for an ar$ehole transplant.
Complications set in when the ar$ehole rejected him :E

the op was to fix a broken heart after he missed out on $70 mill bonus when the private equity bid fell thru. Rumour has it when the surgeon opened him up he had to call for a hammer and chisel because he found a heart of stone in his chest cavity...:D:D

"......The sudden absence of an experienced and highly-regarded CEO may create doubt in investors' minds about a company's immediate financial viability....."
Erm....ok, whatever! Yesterday: CEO Ok, Business Ok. Today: CEO not well, Business not well. GD must really drive things on a day to day basis over there!
The Comet.

No,he wants a heart just like the 'Tin Man' from the wizard of oz.

OK... So who needs a brain and who needs some courage?;)

Full service private hospital?
 

GD why didnt you use a public hospital?

I also bet you used a couple of well known surgens that had undergone recent training and that were paid very well...and they might be members of a union..

unlike your staff....

hate to see the support equip plug fall out of the socket.

I bet the equipment used in GD's operation wasn't maintained
in China!

I heard a rumour that it was not heart surgery but an ar$ehole transplant.

The latest bulletin from the hospital is the ar$sehole has rejected him!

Rumour
 

When the APA deal was being negotiated there was a rumour that Dixon had had a Cardiac Event.
This problem has been around for a while.
Hopefully he will leave the Rat early.
There would be celebrations everywhere.

exploratory surgery? Did they find one?

It's funny how he chose to be treated in OZ instead of going to Asia.
Geoff,aren't operations over there supposed to be cheaper and more cost effective than in Australia.
I feel Geoff the real answer is that deep inside you felt that you were worried that you wouldn't get the best treatment over there.
So why do you still continue to outsource maintenance to Asia when you know the quality of the workmanship is not up to the standard of Australia.
You wouldn't risk your health so why risk an aircraft carrying hundreds of pax.

edit, must read previous posts, no point repeating the same joke...

Wonder if they used staples to put him back together?

I volunteer to be his night nurse. All alone.:E

Hearty Brain
 

Well, they couldn't operate on the grey matter - there being none.

Dont Die on me Geoff
 

Lucky for Geoff Dixon he didn't have to rely on the Qantas doctor like I had to.
Now that I have ASIC investigating my claim against him and Qantas I would hate to start again just when my web site and blogs are at the top of google.
He will have time to reflect on a few things while he has Australian care.

I know I' ll be Jessica Rowe with the late news but...............

I hear he under went a 17 hr operation

It took 15 hours just to find his HEART !!!!!!!! :E

One could be forgiven for thinking his heart had ALREADY been bypassed!:E

I heard a rumour that it was not heart surgery but an ar$ehole transplant.
The latest bulletin from the hospital is the ar$sehole has rejected him!

Okay, that's the third time that ones been used...anyone else?

Besides, I thought he'd already had a heart bypass...and now everything goes to his hip pocket???:confused:

The lengths some people will go to not to have to front up to an ASIC inquiry to explain their lack of fiduciary
responsibility during the APA debacle. :*

He's bypassed all the regulations so there's a man with experience. This op should be a snack.!!

They said it was Heart Bypass. They figured as he wasn't using it anyway they may as well go round it!!!!!!!

Funny how all the money in the world means nothing at a time like this.

I may have to pay more attention to the concept of Karma.

This has renewed my faith in Santa.. I've got my number one present now

............not a single kind word here for a "well-respected businessman", quote unquote !:bored:.......after reading that I think I'll book in for some work on my brain, I wonder if it can be saved after being exoposed to that tripe ?:bored:
You know the funny thing here (if it where not soo serious) is that this guy is, rich, famous, (to his mum only I'd say) well respected, not by anyone normal & above all human, that's the funny bit 'cause a machine would have more "heart" than this old guy !...he won't last forever, & neither will the Airline sadly if he's allowed back at the controls !

Get well soon GD it's guys like you that give us 'humans' reason to vent our frustrations here !

I wonder if the QF engineers will send flowers?:}

CW,

To quote Al Dunlap "You have no friends in business, if you want a friend buy a dog"
Good luck to everyone at QF, 2007 has been a year of regime change.

I wonder if the surgeons accidently left a rag or some tools behind in his chest after sewing him up?

Left some instruments of the trade, still happens and whilst I wouldn't want to wish that, I hope that the medical proffessionals at that hospital were on their job that day.

You don't see doctors and nurses jobs threatened with offshoring.

Get well soon Geoff, hope they give you some moral injections in recovery!

God why couldn't it happen in the hospital that I am connected too?

Looks as though it was all too good to be true.:(

January 02, 2008 12:00am
QANTAS boss Geoff Dixon had an undisclosed "procedure" before Christmas which forced him to stay in hospital, the airline confirmed late yesterday.

However, a suggestion in a newspaper report that the airline's long serving chief executive had a heart bypass operation was denied.

The airline said in a statement that Mr Dixon had a procedure at St Vincent's hospital, Sydney, on December 17 and that he had remained in hospital for several days.

"The procedure was a private issue for Mr Dixon and was not heart bypass surgery as was reported in (Tuesday's) media.

"Mr Dixon had returned to work on December 27 and was at work this week," the airline said.

Mr Dixon, 68, who earned upwards of $6 million last year, has been chief executive of the airline since 2000.

He is due to retire in mid 2009.

Aviation industry sources have speculated for some time that Mr Dixon might choose to go earlier following the appointment last month of Leigh Clifford a former chief executive of Rio Tinto, as chairman.

The Qantas board recently appointed a headhunting firm to select international candidates and other talent from the Australian business scene as possible replacements.

Three internal candidates -- chief financial officer Peter Gregg, executive general manager John Borghetti and Jetstar boss Alan Joyce -- are also likely to be shortlisted.

originally posted by Howard Hughesmate,it wasn't a heart by-pass it was for a personality/charisma by-pass as you have to have it re-done every 5 years or so to keep it effective.
He needed it to be done before christmas because he didn't want to give any gifts to anyone and he loves playing Scrooge at this time of year.

On another note the time span seems about right for a heart op.You only stay overnight if it was a stent but a bypass would be about 5 days.Maybe it is another PR job to keep the 'shareholders and the market' in the dark.
You never know this might be the reason he can use to leave early.
If thats right then watch for how big his pay out will be

I wonder if there were any dodgy staple jobs involved?

Humpty Dumpty
 

.....................Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall, known as GD he was well loved by all, (gag gag).
.................... all the engineers & all the decent men, couldn't put humpty dumpty back together again.....halleluiah !!!:}

CW:)

Come out Dixon and show your face with someone trustworthy
 

Geoff Dixon publicity stunt over heart bypass. Is he is playing the field?

Geoff Dixon has heart surgery. Daily Telegraph
Qantas denies Geoff Dixon heart bypass Herald Sun


Geoff, Stop the bull**** and show your face with someone trustworthy.
We know that you get a kick back from the media. More sales equals more money.
In addition to his duties at Qantas he occupies a non-executive director's seat on the boards of James Packer's Consolidated Media and Crown.
It's a bit like "Double Dipping"
See my blogs

Nah,
He had a vasectomy!