It’s a Cat’s life: Antony Catalano and Co cruise the Med

Illustration: Rod Clement.

Isn’t Fairfax’s real estate boss Antony Catalano a picture of optimism?

The Domain boss was last seen on board Fairfax non-exec and Hungry Jack’s founder Jack Cowin’s luxury super yacht Silver Dream, which has been cruising off the coast of France and yesterday was en route to the Italian island of Lipari.

Antony Catalano and friends aboard Jack Cowin’s yacht, Silver Dream.

Judging by the holiday snaps — chartered jets here, super yachts there — the Cat doesn’t seem at all fazed by the $1 billion write-off of Fairfax’s publishing assets that his boss Greg Hywood announced on Monday.

Antony Catalano doesn’t seem fazed by the write-off of Fairfax’s publishing assets.

And why should he be? After all, the full glory of his Domain group’s results will now be separated from Fairfax’s other, troubled assets. Also believed to be sharing the European summer with Catalano are the chief operating officer of Metro Media Publishing Trent Casson, Domain’s chief product officer Damon Pezaro and its sales boss Simon Kent.

Perhaps out of solidarity for Fairfax’s less well remunerated pockets, the group is making do on the smaller of Cowin’s two cruisers. The fast-food billionaire’s larger ship Slip Streamis moored off the Italian island of Capri, where James Packer’s Arctic Phas also enjoyed the northern summer party season.

Apparently the Cat’s trip followed a “sales conference” on the Spanish party island of Ibiza.

Catalano, 49, and the father of eight children before he was snipped last November, owns luxury boutique resort Rae’s on Wategos at Byron Bay.

This time last year he was disqualified from driving after recording a blood-alcohol reading of 0.08 after manoeuvring his four-wheel-drive into the kerb in the Victorian seaside town of Sorrento. It’s one of a number of colourful episodes that make it unlikely Fairfax chair Nick ­Falloon will appoint him as ­Hywood’s successor as CEO.

Roxy here, Roxy there

While insider trader Oliver ­Curtis languishes behind bars pending his appeal in October, his publicist wife Roxy Jacenko is making a new friend — 60 Minutes reporter Allison Langdon.

Roxy Jacenko is making a new friend.

As we reported in mid-June, a more domestically focused 60Minutes is pulling together a tell-all on the Sweaty Betty principal, with executive producer Kirsty Simpson believed to be taking a strong personal interest in how the piece comes together.

It is understood that veteran reporter Liz Hayes was first assigned to the story, which kicked off with Simpson gathering material at Jacenko’s social media seminar at the Shangri-La hotel on the same day in June that Curtis (who turned 31 in jail on Monday) was found guilty of his white collar crime.

Jacenko, who is not being paid by Nine but will appear in other projects with the network, revealed after her husband’s sentencing that she had breast cancer.

But word is Hayes wasn’t keen on the story, which has been handballed to Langdon.

Huddo lands a big one

The real estate set are calling it “Huddo’s happy ending”.

Matt “Huddo” Hudson — the Corey Worthington of the Australian property world — has a new job.

Huddo has been snapped up by Cushman & Wakefield, the property services giant that is backed by Ben Gray’s private equity firm TPG.

Hudson has been appointed Cushman & Wakefield’s head of retail leasing, a bit over a month after we broke the news that he had left real ­estate services business Colliers to pursue new employment opportunities.

As a Colliers property agent/party starter, Huddo shot to fame with a slickly produced film tribute to his own “flirty thirty”. Time for a “flirty onboarding” party?

Meanwhile, back at John Kenny’s Colliers, the search continues for a CFO to replace Sean Unwin, who was stood down two months ago after sexual harassment allegations were made by his former executive assistant. A settlement was reached before the matter went to court.

Sussex Street revisited

There was something of a NSW Labor Right reunion at Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar & Grill in Sydney yesterday.

Bob Carr and Mark Arbib, back in the day.

His Golden Century days long behind him, Labor grandee Bob Carr caught up for a high-protein, low-carb lunch with his former Sussex Street operatives Mark Arbib and Karl Bitar, who now work for James Packer. Still no word on whether Packer’s faceless men will soon be joined by Sky News commentator Peta Credlin.

Congrats comrade

Elsewhere on the labour side of politics, Australia’s most powerful (and possibly dysfunctional) white collar union, the Finance Sector Union, has a new boss. But it’s not the one everyone was expecting.

Julia Angrisano in her early days at the FSU.

When the union’s NSW secretary Julia Angrisano returns from leave in November after the birth of her third child, she will take over as national secretary, a role that many had expected to go to acting union boss Geoff Derrick.

The four pillars are hoping Angrisano will preside over a less turbulent time at the union than that which played out under her predecessor and former Westpac manager Fiona Jordan.

Jordan had a bitter feud with her national executive, including complaints to the Fair Work Commission alleging bullying and harassment. The board reciprocated with accusations of misconduct.

Bennett goes bush

Standing out from the crowd is one of the toughest challenges for the dozens of junior exploration companies assembled at this year’s Diggers & Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie, and it’s a skill that’s been mastered by S2 Resources’ Mark Bennett.

Tins, from left, of reindeer, bear and moose, from S2 Resources at Diggers & Dealers.

Rather than the usual geological maps and drill core, the exhibition booth of Bennett’s S2 features a unique assortment of delicacies brought back to Australia from S2’s exploration ground in Sweden and Finland. The tins of moose and reindeer meat and the tin of genuine bear pate are displayed on a reindeer hide. What’s Scandinavian for “yum”?

The S2 team have also brought to Diggers a full-length polar bear outfit, a reference to its exciting Polar Bear gold discovery south of Kalgoorlie.

But despite the bitter cold at this year’s conference — the temperature has dipped towards zero each night — pity the “skimpies”! — Bennett and his team have so far been unable to find anyone willing to don the full bear kit. Last we heard S2 was trying to rope in a School of Mines student for the gig.

Sceptics’ corner

Industry veteran Peter Cook was also doing his best to inject a bit of life into Diggers yesterday, donning a North Melbourne jumper and cap and blaring the Kangaroos’ club song when delivering his address.

Delegates at Diggers & Dealers test out remote control Caterpillar trucks on a model mine. Picture: AAP Image/Kim Christian.

Cook, the chief executive of Metals X, also offered a friendly yet pointed jibe at fellow Kalgoorlie character and Neometals managing director Chris Reed, who had updated the crowd on the progress of his company’s Mount Marion lithium project immediately before Cook’s presentation.

It’s fair to say there’s an ongoing scepticism towards the red-hot lithium space from the more traditional corners of the mining industry, and Cook is no exception.

“That was a great presentation Chris, I almost believed that,” Cook said.

Diggers casualty

Meanwhile, there always seems to be at least one executive who struggles to make it to Diggers in one piece.

Doray Minerals managing director Allan Kelly.

Last year it was Mark Bennett, who spent the conference sporting a busted nose after walking headfirst into a stationary plane while engrossed in his mobile phone.

This year it is Doray Minerals managing director Allan Kelly, who has been getting about in a sling.

Kelly, a hockey goalkeeper when not building goldmines, broke his arm while diving to make a save in a recent game. The good news: he saved the goal. The bad news: despite his bone-crunching heroics, his team lost the match.