MAM
IAA Young Turks Forum hosts mentorship programme
MUMBAI: The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter played host to 25 leaders from across Indian industry to mentor 720 students at the first ever mentorship programme conducted under the aegis of the IAA Young Turks Forum.
JSW Foundation chairperson Sangita Jindal launched the initiative on 19 September at the Bombay Stock Exchange’s International Convention Hall. Hailing the initiative, Jindal scored the importance of mentorship for young professionals.
Earlier, an interactive session with the theme ‘Engaging with the Audience – Lessons from the Entertainment Industry’ was held with film-maker and Lowe Lintas chairman R Balki and Hollywood director and entertainer Stefan Haves. Theatre personality and author Anish Trivedi moderated the discussion.
“There is no need to panic in the race to achieve things,” advised Balki. He also added, “Chill, it’ll happen. Don’t panic.”
Highlighting the difference between a great juggler and a not-so-great juggler, Haves said, “A great juggler has dropped the balls more and made more mistakes in public.” Underscoring the need to not fight shy and be scared of going in front of people, Stefan said, doing public discourse feeds your own soul and that of people around you.”
HBO south Asia was the presenting partner and Mahindra Special Services Group and NASSCOM were the knowledge partners of the IAA Young Turks Forum.
IAA India Chapter president and IAA development Asia/Pacific region VP Srinivasan K Swamy said, “It was heartening to see so many industry leaders spare their precious time to come and mentor youngsters. I am delighted that so many individuals came forward to avail this opportunity. I am also thankful to both Balki and Stefan Haves for talking about their craft and offering true words of wisdom to the 1000-plus audience.”
“We at HBO encourage and value youth engagement opportunities. Our channels have a significant youth connect and we are delighted to have partnered with IAA for this event which had a particularly interesting mix of an interactive session and mentorship programme,” said HBO south Asia MD Monica Tata.
Mahindra Special Services Group marketing and public relations head Manish Advani added, “This was the third edition of the IAA Young Turks Forum and the fact that we had over a thousand youngsters present speaks a lot for the need to have such events.”
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
