MAM
DDB Mudra Group bolsters its India leadership
Mumbai: Strengthening its senior leadership in creative and planning, DDB Mudra Group has onboarded Menaka Menon as national strategy head and Nitin Pradhan as creative head—South. Cumulatively, they bring over 40 years of experience in creative thinking and strategic planning across brands and categories.
Menon started her journey in advertising in account management and eventually moved to other marketing roles. She has also spent time in the media, consulting, and social sectors, all of which have contributed to her unique perspective on culture and consumer behaviour. A MICAn, Menon has previously worked with FCB, Wunderman Thompson, and Leo Burnett. Her diverse portfolio included brands such as ITC Foods, Amazon, HUL, and Star Network.
Pradhan, a seasoned creative thinker with 20+ years of experience, has worked on campaigns such as the Masalas of India for Maggi noodles, Make My Trip’s “MMT Assured” campaign, and brands such as Samsung, Tata Sky, KBC, and Sony Network. His last stint was with Cheil India, with previous experiences at Ogilvy, McCann, Publicis Groupe, and Leo Burnett. Pradhan is also a filmmaker, having directed popular films for Truecaller and the government.
Speaking about the senior appointments, DDB Mudra Group chief creative officer Rahul Mathew said, “Bernbach had said that creativity is the most powerful force in business. And those words form the core of what we’re trying to build at the DDB Mudra Group. But how strong the force of creativity is, depends on the talent that wields it and leads it. In Menon and Pradhan, we found strong leaders and wielders of this force. I look forward to working with them and creating some really exciting work on some of our biggest brands.”
Commenting on her new role, Menon said, “DDB Mudra Group is at an exciting juncture, having created beautiful and impactful work, with a clear focus on building on the same. I look forward to being part of a stellar team working towards a shared mission and bringing a fresh perspective to work.”
Pradhan added, “The vision of making DDB Mudra the integrated agency of choice in the industry is something that inspired me to take up the South creative mandate. The Bengaluru office has recently proven its intent to push creative boundaries with mainline campaigns on BGMI and Indeed. And given the vast portfolio of brands that it has across categories, I’m quite excited to partner with the team in its new phase of growth, where creativity will have a more central role to play.”
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.
