MAM
AHF teams up with JSW Foundation for women’s empowerment
Mumbai: With a vision to revolutionise hockey by empowering young and aspiring women in India and the rest of Asia, the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) announces a unique partnership with JSW Foundation, the social development arm of the JSW Group – one of India’s leading business houses with a rich legacy of empowering rural communities to enrich their lives over the past three decades.
“This is an important milestone in our endeavour to bring more women into the sport of hockey. This association with JSW Foundation promises to inspire change by empowering aspiring women who wish to get into the sport of hockey, not just as players but also as umpires, technical officials among many other roles. This initiative embodies FIH’s ‘Equally Amazing’ motto. With their vast knowledge and experience in social development, I believe this association with JSW Foundation will prove to be vital across India and Asian countries,” expressed FIH president Dato Tayyab Ikram.
Speaking about this unique partnership with the Asian Hockey Federation, JSW Foundation chairperson Sangita Jindal reaches out to over 1 million individuals annually across the country, through various interventions. With this program, today, I believe that at the JSW Foundation, we are not merely starting a program; We are igniting a movement—a movement aimed at rewriting the narrative of women’s empowerment and leadership in sports. Our mission is clear: to champion gender equality, to empower women in the world of hockey across India and 30 Asian Countries, and to redefine what’s possible both on and off the field.”
While JSW Foundation’s focus areas range from education, health and nutrition, skill development, environment and water, art, and heritage; sports has been one of the strong focus points for JSW Foundation who believe that sport has the power to eliminate social discrimination and gender biases. Through JSW Sports, they promote sporting excellence and run multiple programs and platforms to aid India’s vision of achieving the status of a global powerhouse in sports. Their robust sports ecosystem has paved the way for 17 of the 107 medals at the recent Hangzhou Asian Games.
AHF president Fumio Ogura welcomed the JSW Foundation and called them, ‘champions of change.’ He said, “JSW Group has been at the forefront of ringing in a new era of sports in India with their ambitious JSW Sports initiative that supports several leading athletes in the country and have successfully created an ecosystem that promises to contribute to India’s vision of becoming a global sporting powerhouse. We, at AHF, are privileged to receive their generous support in our efforts to bring more women into the sport. With their reach across India, through their several community-based initiatives, we believe we can take hockey far and wide in India as well as in rest of Asia.”
Reflecting Jindal’s views and deep-rooted passion for sports, JSW Sports and Inspire Institute of Sport founder Parth Jindal said, “The JSW Women’s Empowerment and Youth Leadership Program is a reflection of our commitment to fostering leadership, gender equality, and diversity, not just in hockey but in society as a whole. It’s about empowering the women who are not just representing a team but also representing hope, inspiration, and the future of Indian sports.
“When Tayyab Ikram spoke to us regarding this event and the launch of the JSW Women’s Empowerment and Youth Leadership Program, we didn’t have to think twice. At JSW, we have always been a Group that focuses on development and growth.
I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone here and the Asian Hockey Federation for this partnership.”
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.
