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Havas Chairman & CEO Alain dePouzilhac resigns
MUMBAI: Alain de Pouzilhac, chairman and CEO of French advertising company Havas, has resigned.
According to agency reports, de Pouzilhac’s departure was followed by a meeting of the Havas’ board in Paris, the first of such a gathering of the company’s management since he lost a battle with rival Vincent Bollore, Havas’ single-largest shareholder who has more than a 20 per cent stake in the company.
de Pouzilhac yesterday proposed to the board of directors a period of transition prior to the installation of a new chairman and chief executive officer. During this transitional period Richard F. Colker, an independent director of ten years’ standing and chairman of the audit committee, will exercise the functions of chairman and CEO, backed by a team of three directors: Ed Eskandarian, Fernando Rodés, Jacques Séguéla, who will take responsibility for the group’s executive functions.
The board of directors in turn approved the proposal and have brought to an end Alain de Pouzilhac’s term of office as Chairman and CEO of Havas. de Pouzilhac will continue to serve as a member of the BOD and to give the group the benefit of his advice and counsel.
The board will convene again in the near future in order to
consider ways of involving Havas’ employees in the Group’s development by means of new equity-based schemes, such as stock-options, bonus shares or other plans.
Martin Gollner analyst Bryan Garnier has earlier said that Havas’ (HAVS) turnaround in short-term would be unlikely if CEO Alain de Pouzilhac resigned. He was of the view that the current valuation of Havas already reflected the group’s turnaround and that a strategic sale would seem unlikely in the short term.
Apple rarely announces minor updates with much fanfare, and iOS 26.4 is no exception. No dramatic redesigns, no flashy keynote moments. What it delivers instead is a focused set of improvements that sharpen the experience you already have. If that sounds underwhelming, spend a week with it. You will change your mind.
Apple Music Learns to Listen Better
The biggest shift in this update lives inside Apple Music. Apple has brought AI-powered playlist generation to the app, and it works on mood rather than genre. Type something like “rainy evening at home” or “running late on a Monday,” and it builds a playlist that actually fits. This is not algorithmic guesswork dressed up in new clothing. It genuinely reads the intent behind vague descriptions and responds well.
Alongside this, a new concerts feature scans your listening history and surfaces live events happening near you. It is a smart bridge between your digital music habits and real-world experiences. Apple is quietly making the case that a music app should do more than just play songs.
Shazam also gets a meaningful upgrade. It can now identify songs without an internet connection. This might sound like a minor convenience, but anyone who has tried to Shazam something at a crowded venue with patchy signal will tell you it is anything but minor. The feature works locally on-device, which also means it is faster.
CarPlay Gets Smarter Controls
CarPlay has been updated with deeper integration for intelligent voice assistants. The goal is to reduce how often drivers need to look at a screen or tap anything at all. You speak, things happen. It is a clear step toward making the driving experience safer without stripping away functionality. The integration feels natural rather than bolted on, which is a harder thing to achieve than it sounds.
The Fixes You Feel Every Day
This is where iOS 26.4 earns its keep. Keyboard responsiveness has been improved, and the difference is noticeable immediately. Typing feels more accurate and less combative. Accessibility features have been refined across the board, with better contrast options and adjusted spacing that makes the interface easier to read without forcing you into larger text sizes.
The Health app has also been updated. It now surfaces more actionable insights from your daily data rather than just displaying numbers. If your sleep patterns have shifted or your activity levels have changed, the app now contextualises that clearly instead of leaving you to interpret raw figures on your own.
These are the kinds of changes that do not photograph well for a press release. They also happen to be the ones that make your phone feel genuinely better to use.
A Few Other Additions
New emojis have been added in this update. They will find their way into your conversations faster than you expect. Family Sharing has also been updated, with more granular control over shared payments and subscriptions. If you share an Apple account with family members, this puts clearer limits on who can spend what, which has been a long-requested fix.
What This Update Actually Represents
iOS 26.4 is Apple doing what it does best when it is not trying to make headlines. Every addition here serves a clear purpose. The AI music features are genuinely useful. The CarPlay improvements address a real safety concern. The small UI fixes accumulate into a noticeably smoother daily experience.
There is no bloat. Nothing feels experimental or half-finished. That discipline is harder to maintain than it looks, especially as operating systems grow more complex with each passing year.
If you have been holding off on updating, this is the one worth installing.
