MAM
On social be realistic, says Facebook’s Riley Peter
GOA: Facebook has changed the nature of personal and business communication. While people are looking at connecting with other set of people on Facebook, brands too need to take a good note on how to create great connections with consumers.
Facebook –APAC head of creative shop Riley Peter on Day 1 of GoaFest went ahead to talk about what creativity meant to the social media network giant. Today, as people have access to multi screens, creativity needs to shape up accordingly, believes Peter.
It is time for brands to partner with social networking sites for creating impressive work. Social has the power to identify niche as well as the mass audiences. Brands can thereby analyse what idea works for it best. According to Peter, “Brands don’t have the right to be in your newsfeed.” He is of the opinion that it is time for brands to move away from just creating disruptive communication. At the end of the day a consumer when on social platform, needs to take away much more than product details and offers.
Brand communications should never look like an intruding one. Today, consumers have infinite choices and also have a total control over it. The challenge for brands thereby increases. “Only smart creative ideas can bring that difference in a consumer’s outlook towards brands,” said Peter. He also thinks that brands should change their perception of getting more likes just for the sake of it.
Peter is of the opinion that India has a great potential to create remarkable creative work on social. Main reason being that today Facebook has over one billion users in India. The number in itself speaks. What Indian brands need to do is bring the art of storytelling on social as well. Peter is highly impressed with what Indian brands are doing on main stream advertising. According to him, in India celebrity endorsements have created some successful brand campaigns. “It is time to be more realistic and rope them effectively on social too,” said Peter.
The creative canvas on social has the power to give real experiences to consumers in the near future. Peter is highly optimistic about India and thinks in the coming years there will be great storytelling happening on social by brands!
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
