MAM
Publicis Media names Adheesh Jain group head media buying, PMX
Moves to PMX unit after stint at WPP, steps into wider buying remit
MUMBAI: Publicis Media has brought in Adheesh Jain as group head media buying for its PMX unit, adding a seasoned buyer with experience across some of the country’s largest digital mandates.
Jain joins the network after a brief career break, having most recently worked at WPP Media as group head media investment for L’oreal India. In that role, he handled digital buying across ott platforms, beauty marketplaces, quick commerce, payment apps and leading news and sports publishers. He also closed large-scale sponsorships across properties such as Indian Idol, Splitsvilla, 4 More Shots please season four and the Women’s Premier League.
Before that, he spent over two years at Interactive Avenues, where he led digital buying for brands including oneplus India and Amazon India. At amazon, he managed an annual media outlay of more than Rs 500 crore across verticals such as Prime, Fashion, Fresh and Prime Video, while driving savings and performance benchmarks.
Earlier in his career, Jain held media planning and buying roles at amura marketing technologies and logicserve digital, building experience across B2B, ecommerce, education, finance and consumer brands. He began his career in performance marketing and social media roles before moving into large-scale digital buying and strategic negotiations.
Announcing his move, Jain said he was excited to join Publicis Media and take on a role that brings “new challenges, bigger responsibilities, and a lot of opportunity to grow.” He added that the learnings and experiences from his previous organisations had shaped his journey so far, and he was looking forward to building impact in his new chapter.
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.
