Geon's national general manager for the eastern seaboard, Glen Draper, and the head of sales for NSW, Kim Lykissas, resigned from Geon on 11 December.

Draper told ProPrint: "It was definitely not a sacking… We offered notice as per our contract, but the business has chosen to put us on what they call 'gardening leave'."

"Kim and I have a great opportunity to re-enter the market. I can't talk about that right now, but we have a fabulous opportunity to be a part of a group within our industry and we're very excited about that," he said.

Blue Star's new owner, Geoff Selig, would neither confirm nor deny whether he had hired Draper and Lykissas.

Both men worked at Blue Star during Selig's previous stint as managing director.

Following the Selig-led buyout, there has been speculation about whether former Blue Star staff would return to the fold. In Draper's entry for this year's Power 50, published on 3 December, ProPrint wrote: "Now that the Seligs have returned to Blue Star, it will be interesting to see what this means for the revolving door that is Geon's executive committee."

Draper was at Blue Star from 1992 to 2010 and eventually finished as executive general manager of print and mail.

He was cut from Blue Star under former managing director Chris Mitchell, a move that left many dumbfounded.

[Related: Glen Draper interview]

Lykissas, Draper's deputy at Geon, was employed by Blue Star from 2004 to 2011, with his final position being executive general manager of DM and e-communications.

It is unclear if either men are under non-compete clauses and how this could affect their next steps.

Both men told ProPrint they had enjoyed their time at Geon and worked with a lot of good people. They are now in discussions with Geon about when they can start at the new employer, said Draper. 

"My priority is to do the right thing by Geon and we'll deal with the new journey in the new year," he said.

"We're very excited about the future within the industry and we're looking forward to being part of a really exciting challenge."

Draper and Lykissas aren't the only senior executives to recently depart Geon. Long-time New Zealand boss Andrew Durrans was cut in November, three weeks after the resignation of the general manager of national operations, Roger Kirwan.

[Related: Ups and downs of Geon]

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