MAM
Murdoch, Schumacher pitch in for Tsunami relief
MUMBAI: Media moghul Rupert Murdoch has joined a list of high profile people that are donating millions of dollars to help the victims of the Tsunami natural disaster which struck South Asia. He has donated $1million.
Race legend Michael Schumacher has topped that by donating $10 million. This amounts to about an eight of what he earned last year.
Schumacher said, “It’s impossible not to keep thinking about it. Our thoughts are with them and we hope that they will be spared further disastrous events.”
Murdoch meanwhile has called upon media companies to do their bit. He said, “More than 150,000 dead, thousands missing, 5 million homeless, millions more vulnerable to diseases. While the world has already responded with great compassion, we can do more – and should do more.”
Murdoch added that his move was a response to an appeal for funds by US President George Bush. Murdoch said, “In announcing this effort, the president placed his faith in what he called ‘the good heart of the American people. I have also asked all of our US-based media to support the president’s call by devoting as much space and airtime as practicable to encourage Americans to open their pocket books to this great humanitarian enterprise.”
In the US, Walt Disney set up a fund with the International Red Cross with an initial donation of $1 million. Time Warner has donated $300,000 and will match employee donations up to $500,000. Individual Time Warner companies in Europe and Asia are also making donations.
Other high profile donors include American actress Sandra Bullock who donated $ 1 million to the Red Cross. Meanwhile Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have created a solidarity fund for the Tsunami victims. Fifa’s emergency committee has decided to donate $ 2 million towards rehabilitation and relief work. The AFC has pledged $1 million.
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
