Brands
Kwality Wall’s scoops up heavyweight board ahead of HUL split
MUMBAI: India’s soon-to-be-independent ice cream giant has lined up seven directors to steer its course after breaking free from Hindustan Unilever Ltd on 1 December. Kwality Wall’s (India) Ltd announced the heavyweight appointments on 23 November signalling its readiness to compete as a standalone entity in the country’s fast-growing frozen desserts market.
The newly minted board brings together veterans from across consumer goods, finance and strategy. Ritesh Tiwari, global head of M&A, treasury and ventures at Unilever plc, joins as non-executive director. The 25-year industry stalwart previously served as executive director of finance and chief financial officer at HUL, where he championed digital transformation.
Two executive directors will drive day-to-day operations. Chitrank Goel, tapped as deputy managing director, brings over two decades in consumer packaged goods and 15 years specifically in ice cream, including stints at Unilever India and Europe before moving to Jubilant FoodWorks. Prashant Premrajka steps in as chief financial officer and executive director, armed with 22 years in consumer goods and previous experience as CFO of Kimberly-Clark Lever India.
The independent directors pack serious corporate firepower. Ravi Pisharody spent over a decade at Tata Motors, including as executive director, plus 18 years at Philips and eight at BP/Castrol. Madhavan Hariharan, group CFO at CK Birla Group, chairs the audit committee at Galaxy Surfactants. JV Raman logged nearly three decades at Unilever across multiple markets, heading businesses in Vietnam and Russia. Shukla Wassan brings three decades of expertise in strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance across South Asia.
The board appointments follow the resignation of Toloy Tanridagli, who stepped down as additional non-executive director on November 21st citing professional commitments. The company also hired Vidhi Sanghvi as company secretary and compliance officer, effective December 5th, and appointed SN Ananthasubramanian & Co as secretarial auditors.
The demerger marks a strategic bet on focused value creation. Armed with marquee brands including Magnum and Cornetto, and backed by an expansive distribution network, Kwality Wall’s is positioning itself to accelerate growth in a category that’s heating up. The company will list on India’s two major stock exchanges in due course. For a business built on keeping things frozen, the pace is decidedly scorching.
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.
