MAM
Aditya Birla Group forays into premium casual dining
Mumbai: The Aditya Birla Group has announced a foray into the premium casual dining space, in collaboration with India’s chef restaurateur Rahul Akerkar.
The group’s hospitality arm housed under Aditya Birla New Age (Abna) will build premium casual dining restaurant chains across India. Abna, promoted by Aryaman Vikram Birla, aspires to create the most preferred house of F&B brands in India under its umbrella.
Aditya Birla Management Corporation director, Abna founder Aryaman Vikram Birla said, “The dynamism and buoyancy of the Indian consumption story is driving a preference for premium experiences. High disposable income among the rising middle class in India and the expansion of the urban cosmopolitan lifestyle is driving the boom in dining out behaviour. Therefore, the demand for premium casual dining restaurants (PCDR) is expected to increase across India as consumers seek new dining experiences. Our vision is to build the best F&B Brands, with a clear focus on both quality and value for customers. Our partnership with Rahul Akerkar, who has a unique culinary style, is a step in this direction. We are excited at the prospect of developing a distinct PCDR chain. We are in advanced stages of project execution and aim to launch the first restaurant in Mumbai next quarter.”
Akerkar said, “I am thrilled to join the team at ABNA and introduce our latest concept i.e a casual, neighborhood, restaurant for all seasons, weeknight dates or lunches with a co worker. The food with a European backbone, is an ode to my mixed Indian and European parentage and my travels across the globe. Much of the cooking will be over live fire with bold, clean flavours, demonstrating a commitment to the freshest ingredients available and an impeccable flair for combining them.”
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.
