MAM
HBO.com to use ‘The Sopranos’ for charity auction
NEW YORK: Innovative US network HBO is using the immense popularity of its crically acclaimed gangster series The Sopranos to raise funds for a worthy cause. HBO.com is giving fans a chance to own a part of the smash-hit drama series via an online auction. In India, the show airs on Zee MGM.
From tomorrow at 3 pm EST, eight items from the first three seasons of the show will be put up for bidding, with net proceeds going to charity. The entire auction will run for 10 days.
Wardrobes used on the show set as well as other memorabilia will provide devoted viewers with a unique opportunity to bid on a treasure trove of items.
The items include the Tony Soprano signature-piece golf shirt worn by James Gandolfini and labelled “Tony” on the collar tag.
Also up for bid are greatly sought after cast-autographed copies of: Pilot script, Season 3 Boardwalk poster and The Sopranos hockey jersey
Every article will be authenticated by HBO as coming from the show and will go to the highest bidder on the last day of the auction. The auction is building on the success of HBO.com’s Sex and the City auctions of the past two years, which raised nearly $50,000 in total for charity.
Brands
UltraTech Cement appoints Jayant Dua as managing director
Dua will succeed K. C. Jhanwar after his term ends in December 2026
MUMBAI: UltraTech Cement, the flagship cement arm of the Aditya Birla Group, has elevated Jayant Dua as managing director, effective 1 April, 2026.
The company’s board also approved his appointment as additional director, managing director and key managerial personnel, effective 1 January, 2027, following the completion of the current managing director K C Jhanwar’s term on 31 December, 2026, according to a regulatory filing.
Dua will serve as managing director for a four-year term from 1 January, 2027 to 31 December, 2030.
A veteran executive with more than 37 years of professional experience, Dua joined the Aditya Birla Group’s cement business in 1996 and spent nearly a decade in various functional and leadership roles.
Over the past two decades, he has held several profit-and-loss and chief executive responsibilities across multiple group businesses, including insulators, insurance, Century Cement and the chlor-alkali segment. In 2023, he was elevated to lead the group’s renewables and textiles businesses.
Within the group, Dua has received several internal honours, including the chairman’s individual award for exceptional contribution in 2002, the outstanding leader award in 2009 and the leader of leaders recognition in 2022.
He holds an engineering degree from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, an MBA from International Management Institute and has completed the advanced management programme at Harvard Business School.
