MAM
AAAI turns 60, chalks year long agenda for diamond jubilee celebrations
MUMBAI: The baby has turned 60 this year. And it seems to grow only younger by the day. Incepted in 1945, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), the apex body of the Indian advertising fraternity, has rolled out an impressive ten point agenda to mark the diamond jubilee celebrations.
AAAI president Srinivasan K Swamy elaborates, “Our Association has served well the cause of advertising and its development in the last 60 years and it is time to review and strengthen the role played by the Association, given the current market dynamics. We are concerned with some of the developments and we are keen to take some corrective action.” He also mentioned that, later in the year, the Association is going to put together a battery of top Agency heads in an attempt to brainstorm critical issues related to the industry and find appropriate solutions to them.
Change is in the air. This reflects in the Association’s overhauled spirits to cultivate a new corporate identity. The drive has kicked off with the Association now sporting a new logo. On the rationale of the new logo Saatchi & Saatchi managing director and CEO V Shantakumar briefs, “We decided to go for a simple yet modern logo that reflects abbreviation of the Association’s name. Drumming up for a common cause has over the years become an important catch phrase, and is relevant to the role which advertising plays. Hence the three ‘A’s are the support on which the ‘drum’ base depends. And the ‘I’ has been turned into the proverbial stick to signal professional empowerment. Together this change of identity and design is evocative of the AAAI’s role in modulating the industry’s cadence, creating resonant reverb across its membership.” The logo has been designed by Elsie Nanji, vice chairman and chief creative officer, Ambience Publicis.
Significantly, there has been a considerable lack of empirical information on the history of advertising in India. Under its year long diamond jubilee programme the Association has planned to release a well researched book which traces the initial days of advertising in India and its progress over the decades.
For a successful implementation of its 10 point programme for the diamond jubilee celebrations this year, the Association has entrusted Ramesh Narayan, past president of AAAI, as the chairman of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations Committee. The prominent activities that the programme proposes are:
– AAAI Publications on Business Practices
– Diamond Jubilee Seminars
– International Advertising Convention
– Evolving a new code for Business Practices
– Socially Relevant Campaigns
– Setting up of a National Advertising Centre
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.
