MAM
SapientNitro acquires 81% in Brazilian digital agency
MUMBAI: SapientNitro, an interactive marketing, creative design, and technology services agency, has acquired 81 per cent of Brazil-based independent digital agency iThink.
The move into Brazil marks the expansion of SapientNitro into the Latin American market, strategically rounding out the agency‘s global footprint to include all of the BRIC countries, and expanding its ability to help clients around the world.
According to the company statement, Latin America is a strategic and rapidly evolving market for SapientNitro and its clients. Expansion into this region is in response to client demand for SapientNitro‘s combination of brand, digital and commerce service offerings in the market, particularly as global marketers gear up for Brazil‘s hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
Led by Marcelo Tripoli, iThink was founded in 2002. iThink‘s team services a multi-national client base that includes Castrol, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Google, and Samsung.
Sapient president and CEO Alan J. Herrick said, “As the changing consumer continues to disrupt the way companies and brands interact with their consumers, we see more and more clients looking for better RoI and more innovative experiences around brand, digital and commerce that can be leveraged globally. Our move into Latin America with the addition of iThink as one brand, one culture and one P&L, furthers our role as a new breed of agency unlike any other in both capability and global footprint.”
iThink CEO Marcelo Tripoli said, “Our culture has always been about transforming our clients‘ businesses by creating engaging interaction between their brands and consumers. In SapientNitro, we found a kindred spirit that recognizes that digital is not just one more outlet, but increasingly the center of a consumer‘s behavior. Reaching today‘s evolved consumer involves creating multi-dimensional experience spaces that connect to human emotions.”
Pátria Investimentos and Blackstone Advisory Partners acted as the financial advisors to Sapient in connection with the transaction.
Brands
Boeing appoints Barun as head of FP&A for global engineering function
Seasoned finance leader to steer budgets and strategy across global centres
BENGALURU: Boeing’s finance cockpit has a new pilot, and he is no stranger to turbulence or transformation. Boeing has appointed Barun as head of FP&A for global engineering, placing him at the centre of financial strategy for its worldwide engineering and technology operations.
Based in Bengaluru, Barun steps into a role that is as expansive as it is critical. He will serve as the primary finance lead for Boeing’s Engineering and Technology Centers globally, working closely with executive leadership to shape financial decisions, manage complex budgets, and design scalable finance processes that support the company’s growing engineering footprint.
In a note announcing his move Barun said, “I’m excited to share that I’ve joined Boeing Global Engineering. This opportunity is incredibly meaningful to me not just from a professional standpoint, but also for what Boeing represents globally.” He added that he looks forward to contributing to an organisation that continues to shape the future of aerospace and innovation.
Barun’s mandate spans strategic financial leadership, operational oversight, and stakeholder engagement. From directing large-scale budgets and schedules to influencing long-term organisational goals, the role blends financial discipline with business foresight. He will also lead cross-functional teams and partner with finance colleagues worldwide to support engineering programmes across geographies, including India.
The appointment caps a long stint at Juniper Networks, where Barun spent over a decade, most recently as finance senior manager. There, he led FP&A for global product business units and G&A functions, driving budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning. He also played a key role in enterprise-wide transformation, including spearheading an Oracle to SAP ERP migration and building advanced analytics capabilities using tools such as Tableau and SAP Analytics Cloud.
His earlier career includes finance leadership roles at Sony India Software Centre, Cognizant Technology Solutions, and Mphasis, where he focused on financial planning, governance frameworks, and operational efficiency across global delivery centres.
A chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Barun brings nearly two decades of experience across financial planning, digital transformation, and analytics-led decision making.
His appointment comes at a time when global engineering operations are becoming increasingly complex and distributed, requiring sharper financial oversight and agile planning. With Barun at the helm of FP&A for engineering, Boeing appears to be tightening its financial playbook as it looks to scale innovation with discipline.
