MAM
Rohin Desai rejoins Madison Media as chief client officer – Media Buying
Mumbai: Madison Media, a unit of Madison World, is happy to announce the appointment of Rohin Desai as the chief client officer – Media Buying. He will be reporting to Madison Media CEO- Investments, Vinay Hegde
Desai’s illustrious career spans several leading organizations, including GroupM, Lintas Media Group, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, and Enterr10 Television, where he served as Head of Revenue and Sales Strategy. He previously worked at Madison Media from August 2013 to May 2016, managing a diverse set of clients such as Pidilite, Piramal, Raymond, CEAT, Bluestar, and McDonald’s. He also led media buying for ITC at a national level at Madison. Rohin’s expertise lies in crafting and executing integrated media buying strategies that have driven exceptional success for top-tier clients, including Unilever. His career highlights include managing cross-channel media strategies across various sectors such as FMCG, Telecom, E-commerce, BFSI, Automobile, and Retail. His impressive client roster features industry giants like Snapdeal, Aditya Birla Group, Tata, Colgate, Vodafone, McDonald’s, Raymond, Pidilite, CEAT, and Bluestar. Rohin holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing and Finance from IES Management College and Research Centre.
Vinay Hegde, CEO, Investments, Madison Media, said, “I am delighted to welcome one more senior resource back into Madison. His extensive experience and proven track record in media buying and strategy and client management make him a valuable addition to our leadership. We are confident that his expertise will be instrumental in driving our continued success and expanding our impact in the industry.”
Desai said, “I am more than happy to rejoin Madison Media and look forward to contributing to its exciting journey. The opportunity to work with such a dynamic team and build on the company’s strong foundation is truly inspiring. Together, we will explore new horizons and set new benchmarks in the industry.”
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.
