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Manashi Guha appointed L’Oréal consumer products division managing director – UK & Ireland
Mumbai: L’Oréal announces a strategic leadership appointment in the consumer products division (CPD), with Manashi Guha nominated to a new assignment as managing director, CPD for L’Oréal UK & Ireland from 1 October. CPD holds a unique brand portfolio including its four iconic global brands of L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York, Garnier and NYX Professional Make Up.
Guha was most recently a founding member of the South Asia Pacific Middle East North Africa (SAPMENA) Zone Management Committee, a new Zone formed in 2021 as a strategic growth region for L’Oréal Groupe. The region, home to 40 per cent of the world’s population, is one of the fastest-growing for L’Oréal worldwide and a global talent hub. Guha established CPD’s strategic mission for the new zone, tapping into a huge market potential where 50 per cent of the world’s new consumers will come from.
Her growth strategy starts with people and she is known for trailblazing new growth paths and transforming with agility. During her tenure, SAPMENA has not only strengthened its iconic global brands, but also transformed L’Oréal’s go-to market in the region and set people foundations for exceptional results across all three years.
Guha’s new appointment reflects rising global leadership talent emerging from the SAPMENA region. With her leadership experience in emerging and fast-evolving markets, particularly the dynamic markets of India and Indonesia, Guha will bring to her new assignment in UK & Ireland an entrepreneurial mindset, consumer centricity, agility, passion for innovation and excellence.
Commenting on the appointment, Guha said, “It’s been an honor to lead an incredible team of passionate entrepreneurs in the set-up of SAPMENA. South Asia Pacific with the Middle East is leading the beauty revolution and consumer sophistication with diverse beauty ideals and a dynamic digital culture of on-demand, always-connected and hyper social; we can bring a lot to the rest of the world. I hope to bring that learning into my new role. But more importantly, as an Asian Indian wo(mentor), I believe the world is our oyster – we create our reality by unapologetically being who we are. L’Oréal Groupe is an incredible place to create your own reality where I have been recognized and encouraged for bringing my true self to the table.”
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Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
