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Greaves Cotton reshuffles deck chairs as power veteran takes charge
MUMBAI: Greaves Cotton has handed the reins of its energy solutions business to Swarnendu Jha, a 26-year power industry veteran who has hopscotched between diesel engine makers and generator specialists from Pune to the Gulf.
The Mumbai-listed engineering firm promoted Jha to vice president of energy solutions on Sunday, whilst simultaneously making marketing and sales head Abhijit Joshi report to the newly-minted Jha. With that, Joshi has lost his status as senior management personnel under stock exchange rules.
Jha’s appointment caps a career spent navigating India’s stuttering power sector, from his early days at Kirloskar Oil Engines through stints at American heavyweight Cummins and a spell flogging Caterpillar generators across the Gulf states with distributor Mar Al Bahar. The mechanical engineering graduate from Pune University later topped up his credentials with a sales and marketing diploma from Symbiosis—academic armour for battling in India’s cut-throat industrial markets.
The reshuffle comes as Greaves Cotton, founded in 1859 during the British Raj, grapples with India’s energy transition. The company has been pivoting from its traditional diesel engine roots towards cleaner technologies, including electric vehicles and renewable energy solutions, as environmental regulations tighten and customer preferences shift.
Joshi’s reporting change, which is what Greaves Cotton has diplomatically framed it, suggests the company wants a more seasoned hand steering its energy portfolio. The move mirrors broader corporate India’s tendency to parachute industry specialists into key roles as competition intensifies and margins compress.
The timing is telling: India’s power equipment sector faces headwinds from slowing industrial growth and delayed project approvals, even as the government pushes aggressive renewable energy targets. Companies like Greaves Cotton must thread the needle between supporting India’s coal-fired industrial base and positioning for a cleaner energy future.
For investors, the appointment signals Greaves Cotton’s intent to professionalise its energy division management, though whether Jha’s considerable experience can translate into improved performance remains to be tested against India’s notoriously fickle power markets.
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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.
