MAM
MS Dhoni joins Olympiad toppers on Allen Online series Rise to the Top
Episode with Aadish Jain and Krishnarghya Pramanik premieres at 7 pm.
MUMBAI: From cricket pitches to academic podiums, the conversation about excellence is crossing fields. Allen Online is set to release the second episode of its student conversation series Rise to the Top, featuring a discussion between cricket legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni and two young Olympiad achievers. The episode will premiere on the organisation’s Youtube channel at 7 pm today.
The conversation brings together Dhoni with students Aadish Jain from Haryana and Krishnarghya Pramanik from West Bengal, both recognised for their achievements in international Olympiad competitions.
Jain’s journey highlights perseverance. After failing in his first attempt, he continued preparing and eventually secured a gold medal at the International Junior Science Olympiad. Pramanik, meanwhile, achieved International Rank 1 in a global Mathematics Olympiad at a young age through online learning.
The Rise to the Top series aims to bring accomplished students and well known personalities together for candid conversations about ambition, discipline and the mindset needed to succeed in competitive environments.
In the episode, Dhoni discusses preparation strategies, curiosity driven learning and the pressure students often experience while preparing for demanding academic goals.
Drawing parallels between sports and academics, he emphasised the importance of maintaining balance while striving for excellence.
“It is very important to switch on and switch off,” Dhoni said during the conversation. “For me, riding bikes or playing sports like badminton and padel helps me recharge. I believe students should explore different sports early, because unless you try something, you will never know what you are naturally good at.”
Dhoni also encouraged students to remain curious and ask questions as part of the learning process, noting that curiosity and the willingness to seek answers play a crucial role in personal growth.
The episode also touches on the role of mentors and parents in shaping young achievers. Both students acknowledged the support and guidance they received from teachers and family members while preparing for their academic milestones.
Through the Rise to the Top series, Allen Online hopes to create a platform where students can learn from real journeys of persistence and achievement while gaining practical insights into managing ambition, pressure and curiosity in competitive academic fields.
The episode featuring Dhoni alongside Aadish Jain and Krishnarghya Pramanik will be available on the Allen Online Youtube channel from 7 pm today.
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.
