Brands
Wipro welcomes tech strategist Laura Marie Miller to its board for five years
AI, data and digital expertise set to boost Wipro’s boardroom power play
MUMBAI: Wipro Limited has tapped Laura Marie Miller to join its Board of Directors for a five-year term, starting April 1, 2026, pending shareholder approval.
Miller arrives with more than 20 years of steering global organisations through transformation, digital upgrades and performance growth. Known for turning tech and AI strategy into business wins, she specialises in aligning data and digital capabilities with long-term growth plans.
Her career spans leadership roles in retail, hospitality, payments and technology. At Macy’s, she helped shape the company’s digital and AI strategy, while previous stints at InterContinental Hotels Group and First Data saw her leading global operations.
Miller also boasts extensive boardroom experience. She served as director at EVO Payments during a high-growth phase that ended in its acquisition by Global Payments. She has been on the boards of LGI Homes and currently serves as a non-executive director at NCR Voyix and Ahold Delhaize.
Commenting on the appointment, Wipro executive chairman Rishad Premji said Miller’s experience in technology, governance and risk oversight makes her a valuable addition to the board.
Miller holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a Master of Science in Computer Systems Management from the University of Maryland, University College.
With Miller on board, Wipro looks set to harness her tech savvy and AI acumen to power its next chapter of innovation and growth.
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.
