MAM
Greaves Cotton announces key hires; appoints Dr Arup Basu as deputy managing director
Mumbai: Greaves Cotton on Tuesday announced the appointment of Dr Arup Basu as deputy managing director of Greaves Cotton Ltd and Sanjay Behl as CEO and executive director of Greaves Electric Mobility (GEMPL). The strengthening of leadership comes on the heels of highest-ever consolidated quarterly revenue of Rs 621 crore reported for the quarter ending 31 March, the engineering company said in a statement.
With this announcement, the Greaves group leadership will move to a simpler and more focused structure, in line with the reorganisation of business carried out in 2021 to facilitate sustained growth, and led by Dr Arup Basu and Sanjay Behl. Both the leaders will report to MD and group CEO Nagesh Basavanhalli.
In his role, Dr Basu will lead the development and execution of long-term strategies of GCL and will oversee implementation of overall corporate purpose and vision of GCL across engines and retail business. He brings over 30 years of experience in running manufacturing intensive businesses such as packaging (MD at Huhtamaki PPL) chemicals (president and CTO at Tata Chemicals), and automotive (Tata Motors).
GEMPL, comprising e-scooters, e-rickshaw and e-auto segments, is one of the fastest growing businesses within the group accounting for 38 per cent of the overall revenue for the quarter ended 31 March, representing an annual YoY revenue growth of 251 per cent, according to the company.
As CEO and executive director of GEMPL, Behl will focus on leading the accelerated growth of the electric mobility business. He comes with a rich experience in leading consumer facing businesses such as textiles (CEO of Raymond Ltd), broadcasting (CEO of Reliance Big TV) and technology (co-founder/CEO of Nextqore Inc).
Commenting on the leadership appointments, Nagesh Basavanhalli said, “I am delighted to welcome Dr Arup Basu and Sanjay Behl into the leadership team of the Greaves Cotton group. Their immense experience in transforming and growing Indian businesses at global scale will help us accelerate our growth. Their leadership skills in building future facing organisations will help steer growth in their respective areas.”
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.
