MAM
MTV’s Youth Marketing Forum treads on trend territory
MUMBAI: Those looking for the next big trend at Thursday’s Youth Marketing Forum need have looked no further than MTV Networks president Bill Roedy’s comment.
“The next generation in India is going to change the world,” was the astute observation of the architect of MTV’s internationally successful localisation model. Speakers ranging from trend spotting icon Irma Zandl to ex Reebok marketing guru Muktesh Pant to creative ad genius Peter Arnell had converged at the President Hotel, Mumbai, to focus on, identify and unravel that elusive concept that drives most programming, advertising and marketing worldwide – trendspotting.
In its sixth edition this year, the forum attracted a fair share of the ad, marketing and creative fraternity in the country, all eager to imbibe the experiences, observations and insights from trackers of trends like Arnell, Zandl and Pant to trendsetters themselves – filmmakers Nagesh Kukunoor and Farhan Akhtar to fashion designer Wendell Rodricks and British Asian singer Rishi Rich.
Zandl, credited with the tag of having unofficially founded the trend spotting industry, dwelt on the methodologies her research firm employs for spotting, tracking and understanding trends in the US, as well as the difference between what’s a ‘trend’ and what’s merely ‘trendy’ – a passing fad.
Arnell, the force that drives the creative energies for brands like DKNY, Banana Republic, Chrysler and Ray Ban, regaled attendees with his witty, often wry observations and experiences with working brands like Samsung and DKNY. Arnell and Pant, who together created the trendsetting campaign for Reebok two years ago, delineated the way in which the print and video campaigns were created and the media employed to create a 360 degree consumer experience.
Pant, who has now initiated Project Y, a ‘revolutionary new brand that offers integrated facilities to offer yoga, ayurved and meditation’, also spoke on how he intends to convert the age old concept into a trend in the coming year.While Wendell Rodricks spoke about his shift from western design to being influenced by indigenous art, Rishi Rich spoke about the forces that have shaped British Asian music over the decades.
One of the driving forces behind taking Bhangra and Asian sounds to a mainstream audience in the UK, Rich spoke of the trend of the Asian community sticking together in pockets in the UK, which gave rise to a distinctive style of music, influenced by Hindi music, which has ultimately received recognition by well known labels in the industry.
It was Roedy however, who rightly pointed out that trendsetting is essentially inspired by risk taking and that to set a trend, one essentially has to fight the inertia to play it safe.
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.
