MAM
BPL forays into GSM handsets manufacturing
Bangalore: Claiming to be the first company to manufacture GSM mobile handsets, BPL launched seven models of handsets priced between Rs 3,900 and Rs 11,600 at Bangalore on 8 February.
Of the seven, two will be manufactured in-house while five will be outsourced from Korea. The handsets designed with a host of innovative features have major contributions in hardware and software from BPL’s Research and Development Center at Bangalore which employs around 200 engineers.
Revenue contributions of Rs 450 to Rs 500 million are expected from the sale of handsets of the total revenues of Rs 2000 million. The company expects to sell 500,000 handsets by the end of the year through its distributors and retail dealerships. On the anvil are 20-25 new models of handsets.
Following BPL’s launch combined with the announcement on the same day from home appliances brand Haier about its foray into the Indian mobile handsets markets with seven GSM models a wider selection is now available for the mobile users in India.
MAM
WPP appoints Estée Lauder’s Anne-Isabelle Choueiri as chief transformation officer
Former Estée Lauder executive to lead operations, technology and culture overhaul under WPP’s three-year growth plan
LONDON: WPP has appointed Anne-Isabelle Choueiri as chief transformation officer in a newly created role tasked with delivering the group’s Elevate28 strategy.
Choueiri joins from The Estée Lauder Companies, where she led enterprise-wide strategic initiatives, including the “One ELC” operating model and major upgrades to enterprise marketing, data and analytics capabilities. She also led the redesign of enterprise technology teams and served on the company’s AI taskforce, driving AI strategy, adoption and value realisation across the business.
At WPP, she will be responsible for designing, implementing and embedding the operating model behind Elevate28, the company’s three-year growth plan unveiled in February 2026. She will lead efforts to improve innovation, efficiency and integration across WPP’s client offerings, with a focus on delivering agile, outcome-driven solutions and measurable growth.
Choueiri will oversee organisational transformation across the group, working closely with product and enterprise technology teams to deploy AI, data and technology to build new capabilities and improve operational performance. She will also work with the people function to embed cultural change, strengthen an agile performance mindset and support talent development across the organisation.
Before joining Estée Lauder, she held senior roles across consulting and digital agencies, including at Accenture, Masaï (a Bain & Company spin-off), and Kearney, with experience spanning strategy, data and digital marketing transformation.
Cindy Rose, chief executive officer of WPP, said Choueiri brings a strong track record of leading large-scale transformation across operations, technology and culture, adding that her appointment will help accelerate the group’s next phase of growth under Elevate28.
Choueiri said WPP’s strategy represents an ambitious opportunity to reshape how the company operates and delivers for clients, adding that she looks forward to building integrated solutions and fostering a culture of innovation and change.
She will be based in New York and will join WPP’s executive committee.
