MAM
Smart Joules appoints Gaurav Kejriwal as CTPO
Mumbai – Smart Joules has announced the appointment of Gaurav Kejriwal as its new Chief of Product and Technology Officer (CPTO). With a prominent career in the field of technology as a leader and a proven history of scaling enterprise products, Kejriwal’s addition to the organisation is set to drive Smart Joules’ innovation in the field of automation, IOT & artificial intelligence.
Before joining Smart Joules, Gaurav played a crucial role at GreyOrange Pvt. Ltd, a leading warehouse automation company that specialises in robotics and software solutions. As Director and Entrepreneur in Residence, he contributed to launching and accelerating robotic technologies worldwide, achieving significant revenue milestones, and guiding cross-functional teams in developing products and market strategies. Most Recently, he started an intrapreneurial venture with first-of-its-kind Robotic AMR Technology, called RMS, to replace the traditional Conveyors and scaled it to ~$15mn in revenue across multiple geographies. In his professional career of over 11 years, he has excelled in strategic positions, including Engineering Lead, Product Architect, and Associate Director – Product & Engineering. Kejriwal holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics & Communication from BIT Mesra and has deep knowledge and expertise in new business development, product management, and enterprise technology sales.
Sharing his excitement to be a part of Smart Joules Family, Kejriwal stated, “I am driven by the desire to create efficient products and technologies at Smart Joules that address the world’s energy challenges, particularly in emerging markets with vast potential for growth and efficiency improvements. Here, I see an opportunity to make a transformative impact on product innovation, technology advancement, and global energy consumption.”
As CPTO, Gaurav will lead significant initiatives to strengthen intelligent automation in building management systems with an aim to reduce costs and maximise value. His immediate objectives include targeting new clients for Smart Joules’ revolutionary technology DeJoule, and enhancing energy optimization through system automation.
Gaurav’s appointment comes at a crucial time when Smart Joules’ market growth is already accelerating. The brand can use Gaurav’s vast expertise in identifying & solving pressing industry challenges including adoption and usability of building management systems, as they are often hampered due to complexity and limited usability. His combined experience will help Smart Joues to leverage opportunities in the international market.
Commenting on Kejriwal’s appointment, Smart Joules CEO Arjun Gupta said, “Our vision is to deliver 0.1% of the world’s decarbonization target within this decade, equivalent to saving 29 million tons of carbon emissions. We aim to achieve this by scaling up cooling as a service and intelligent automation across the developing world. It’s time to make building management systems as simple and pleasurable to use as Facebook and Google so that complex, dynamic, and evolutionary energy-guzzling systems such as cooling remain continuously optimised over time. This requires innovators to stay close to customers, maintain a deep foundational understanding of existing and emerging technologies, and effectively lead the most talented teams to execute bold visions. Gaurav is going to be a key driver of that growth by making energy savings simple, substantial, and profitable for our clients.”
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.
