Jayne Hrdlicka’s ‘casual advice’ to Bain Capital on Virgin bid

Bain Capital’s Mike Murphy says he has been getting assistance from former Jetstar CEO Jayne Hrdlicka on its bid for Virgin.

Former Jetstar CEO Jayne Hrdlicka. Picture: Stuart McEvoy/The Australian.

Bain Capital has revealed it briefed a2 Milk chairman David Hearn about the assistance being provided by the dairy group’s former chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka to its bid for Virgin Australia, when Mr Hearn declared what “the running rules” could be for her new engagement.

Amid speculation about tensions between a2 and Ms Hrdlicka — a former Jetstar chief executive and Qantas executive — over her work with Bain on Virgin, Bain’s Mike Murphy said he had a conversation with Mr Hearn about the issue “a couple of weeks ago”.

“It was important for him to hear from me and for me to hear from him given the status of her employment with them at the moment. That is all very clear,’’ Mr Murphy said.

Ms Hrdlicka has a consulting agreement with a2 that runs until June 20.

“I have had some dialogue with them both explaining the way we are working together and where the boundaries are and it is very clear from a2 what the running rules are,’’ he said.

He said Ms Hrdlicka, a former Bain partner, had been “very generous with her free time which is nights and weekends, offering a helping hand around the opportunities and risks that we need to be mindful of as we work through our due diligence. That has been really valuable, but obviously she has some ongoing commitments with a2,’’ Mr Murphy said. He confirmed she was not being paid.

An a2 spokesman on Thursday confirmed both Ms Hrdlicka and Mr Murphy had been in contact with a2 over the past fortnight to indicate she was “giving casual advice in her spare time and on weekends, and was not actively engaged in the bid or being considered for any specific role should they be successful in the bid process. Although it now appears that things have developed significantly since those calls.’’

Mr Murphy said it was “premature” to speculate if Ms Hrdlicka could be a future CEO of Virgin or have a board role after her consulting agreement with a2 expired.

“I would love to think if we did this deal she would play some sort of meaningful role. But it is too early to determine who is doing what. The more interaction we have with (CEO) Paul (Scurrah) and his team, the more we are enjoying working with him as well,’’ he said.

“Paul clearly inherited a pretty tough situation and he has done a really good job re-energising the employee base. I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t continue working with Paul. And Jayne is equally valuable as well. So it is great to have access to both.”

Asked if Bain would retain Mr Scurrah as CEO, he said: “The best I can say is, in the interactions we have had so far we are enjoying working together and would like to continue. But in terms of exactly who is playing what role, it is too early.”