Pankaj Kukreja has two careers and loves them both – he is owner of a hugely successful online fashion store and VIP Lounge Manager for Virgin Airlines.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Business (International Hotel & Restaurant Management), Pankaj has travelled Australia, built an online fashion business (with a second store opening this year), and for the last few years has worked as VIP Lounge Manager for Virgin Airlines. In his busy schedule, he somehow finds time to travel to China every 3 months to build his fashion business and visit India twice a year to reconnect with family.

He loves his job as VIP Lounge Manager for Virgin Airlines at Melbourne Airport where he manages staff rosters, ordering stock, and daily operations, and often meets celebrities. Previous roles includes Marketing Manager for Adelaide Festival Function Centre and Beverage Manager for Skycity Casino in Darwin. Eventually he settled in Melbourne to better serve the needs of his online fashion business. Fashion is already in his blood, with his Dad a well-known designer in the industry, Pankaj was keen to carve his own path.

The Bachelor of Business (International Hotel & Restaurant Management) degree at Le Cordon Bleu Adelaide served Pankaj’s goals on two levels, firstly, it gave him small business insights to set up his online business, and secondly, it equipped him with leadership skills he needed for hospitality management.

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The practical side of the degree got me the job as a hospitality manager and the business theory helped me launch my online business.

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During his Le Cordon Bleu (Work Integrated Learning) industry placement Pankaj learned the power of industry connections. “Once you’re in this industry you realise how small it is, and how important industry networks are. I worked at Sheraton Hotel in Port Douglas for my second Work Integrated Learning placement, and thanks to the power of those connections I walked straight into a job at Sheraton Hotel in Perth after graduation.”

Excited to be launching a second online fashion business for men only, OzDude, Pankaj’s original store, OzFash (for men & women) already markets around 10,000 products from a warehouse in China.

As his busy and blessed life evolves, Pankaj intends to continue expanding his online business and working for Virgin in the job he adores.

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I just love this job so much at Virgin Airlines, the clientele are so easy to deal with, they get premium service and they are just so happy to deal with us. I am so grateful to Le Cordon Bleu for the networks that got me started.

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CRICOS: 02380M/ RTO:4959