MAM
ESPN Star Sports eyes big gains from Indo-Pak series
MUMBAI: India‘s battering at the hands of English team notwithstanding, sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports has almost sold out its ad inventory for the upcoming India-Pakistan series.
The sports broadcaster has roped in nine sponsors, including four joint presenting and five associate sponsors, for the two T20s and three ODIs.
The joint presenting sponsors include Havell’s, Celikon Impex, Hero Moto Corp, and Micromax LED TV, while the associate sponsors are Coca Cola, Vodafone, Karbonn Tablets, Cadbury and Pidilite.
ESPN Software India EVP Ad Sales Sanjay Kailash said, “We started off with a target to have four joint presenting sponsor and six associate sponsors. As of now, we have signed four joint presenting and five associate. There are multiple spot buyers as well.”
ESS was asking for 800,000 per 10 second spot for the ODIs and a mind-boggling Rs 900,000-1 million for T20s. Advertisers say the price is too steep even from an India-Pakistan series point of view.
ESS, however, claims it has achieved whatever internal revenue targets it had set. “We have monetised India Pakistan ODIs at a rate which is double as compared to the historical industry average. Even rates for India Pakistan T20 are double than the most sought after T20 tournament in the country,” Kailash said. In all, we are sitting pretty having achieved our targets. There is a minuscule inventory which is yet to be sold but we are confident that the same will be done in the next two days.”
The two arch rivals are engaging in a bi-lateral series after a gap of more than five years. The two teams last time locked horns in ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka this year.
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.
