So, three years ago, gripped by fears that the ageing process was taking effect, he went to Transform, the UK cosmetic surgery group, to have Botox injected into his forehead, brow and his crow's feet. He was so pleased with the results that he has a top-up every six months. “I perform better if I feel confident so it may have increased the number of contracts we have won,” he says.

While some may see such treatments as frivolous luxuries, the people offering them say that increasing numbers of men are turning to non-invasive cosmetic treatments and even to plastic surgery for pragmatic career reasons.

“There are definitely more business guys coming in and they have very focused demands,” says Cap Lesesne, one of Manhattan's leading cosmetic surgeons. “They are worried about their job futures and their professional longevity.” Typical male patients might be in their mid-forties, he adds. “They're fairly successful and they're looking to work into their sixties.”