MAM
Cordiant shareholders approve WPP buyout, sack top executives
LONDON: Shareholders of the struggling British advertising network Cordiant Communications Group removed top executives from the board before approving a buyout by Martin Sorell’s WPP Group. WPP, the world’s third-largest agency company, takes control in August
At the meeting held on 23 July, Cordiant’s chief executive David Hearn, chairman Nigel Stapleton, chief financial officer Andrew Boland were removed from the board. But corporate governance experts said the move was very rare.
An NYtimes.com report says that the buyout by WPP has been highly contested, particularly by Cordiant’s largest shareholder, Active Value Advisors. The major objection raised by the shareholders was that they were not getting a fair due for their holdings. However, over 99 per cent of shareholders voted for the deal because they were left without another choice.
In June, Cordiant had agreed to be bought by WPP in a deal that values the company at about ?10 million ($16.8 million). WPP also bought Cordiant’s bank debt for 100 per cent of its face value. In case of bankruptcy, the shareholders would get nothing, while the WPP deal grants them one WPP share for every 205 Cordiant shares they own, or about 2.5 pence each.
Ultimately, shareholders had their say when they voted 69 per cent in favor of ousting the three executives from the board. “A significant majority of the votes cast by shareholders other than Active Value were in favour of retaining the three directors, Active Value’s votes for removal were sufficient to pass the resolutions,” Cordiant said in a statement.
Also read:
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
