Reckitt chief quits for top Net venture role

The global operations development director at household products giant Reckitt & Coleman has left to join a US Internet start-up specialising in package holidays.

Tom McDermott, who was previously based at Reckitt’s headquarters in the UK, has joined BuyBuyNOW.com as executive vice-president of sales, marketing and strategic planning.

BuyBuy.NOW launches this week in the US and has long-term plans to expand into Europe. Besides its online presence, the company has a 24-hour call centre and 350 travel agents which it will brand BuyBuy.NOW.

The business is backed by venture capital funds and is expected to float in the US next year.

McDermott leaves Reckitt following the announcement that it will merge with Benckiser, but says that this was not the main factor in his decision to quit: “What drove me to leave was the opportunity of the Internet,” he says.

Before joining Reckitt, McDermott worked for a division of Kodak involved in household goods, which was sold to Reckitt in 1994. Previously he worked for Nabisco, having started his career in advertising at Saatchi & Saatchi in the US.