MAM
DDB Mudra & WARC launch India’s first strategy evening
MUMBAI: Advertising is all about creativity, but strategy is what keeps it on course. In an industry first, DDB Mudra Group has partnered with WARC to host Portfolio Evening: Strategy Edition in Mumbai on 26 November 2025, offering young strategists a chance to shine.
Open to professionals with zero to five years of experience, the event invites participants to present their work in 20-minute sessions before a jury of India’s leading strategy experts. Registrations are open until 15 November, and applicants must submit two pieces of work from their portfolio or developed in response to briefs, demonstrating their ability to spot consumer insights, define problems, and craft strategic recommendations.
The evening promises direct feedback from some of the country’s most respected strategic minds, including Sideways Consulting former CSO Aditi Patwardhan; Leo CEO – South Asia Amitesh Rao; TBWA India CSO Anirban Mozumdar; and DDB Mudra Group president and managing partner – growth and strategy Menaka Menon, among others.
The winner will receive exclusive access to WARC’s coveted thought leadership series, Creative Impact Unpacked from Cannes, taking the learning beyond the competition. The evening will also mark the launch of WARC’s Future of Strategy 2025 report in India for the first time. The report maps the evolving role of strategic planning in an AI-driven, rapidly fragmenting media landscape, offering key insights shaping global agency practices.
This inaugural event aims to nurture the next generation of strategy talent, connecting them with industry leaders while showcasing how sharp thinking can transform ideas into impactful campaigns. With creativity in the spotlight and strategy taking centre stage, this is one evening Mumbai’s advertising world will not want to miss.
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.
