MAM
Rahul Vengalil joins tgthr as CEO and co-founder
Mumbai: In a bold and strategic move, Rahul Vengalil is set to lead the charge as the CEO and co-founder of tgthr effective immediately, a visionary ad agency poised to redefine the industry. Positioned as a ‘future-focused, full-funnel ad agency,’ tgthr is already making waves with its headquarters in Mumbai and branches located in Bengaluru and Delhi NCR.
With a rich background and a proven track record in advertising, Rahul Vengalil is well-equipped to steer tgthr towards new heights. His most recent role as the Executive Director at Everest Brand Solutions, which he successfully revived in 2022, showcased his ability to lead with vision and strategic insight. In the past, he has also held the position of Managing Partner at Isobar and helped grow its presence in India for almost a decade.
As CEO at tgthr, Rahul Vengalil will lead client relationships and business across the units. He will also take forward the agency’s promise of a full-funnel approach by integrating media services into the agency offerings, bringing to the forefront his decades of experience in handling media.
Rahul Vengalil’s extensive experience spans across diverse categories, including automobile, fashion, consumer durables, real estate, retail, technology, and FMCG. This broad exposure positions him as a leader capable of navigating the unique challenges posed by different industries, further enhancing tgthr’s versatility and adaptability.
Remarkably, this venture is not Rahul Vengalil’s first foray into entrepreneurship. In 2017, he co-founded What Clicks, India’s pioneering digital media audit firm. This successful initiative demonstrated his ability to identify gaps in the market and introduce innovative solutions.
tgthr CCO and co-founder Aalap Desai added, “We don’t become a full-funnel agency by just calling ourselves ‘full-funnel’. We can only achieve it by having people who not just come with that expertise but command that expertise. Rahul is exactly that. Why he belongs at tgthr, more than anywhere else is because he has the head to drive business and has the heart to care about people, too.”
tgthr CEO and co-founder Rahul Vengalil added, “tgthr has already earned a reputation as a place where happiness meets creativity to produce extraordinary results, setting the foundation for an exciting journey into the future. We aim to simplify the complexities of today’s diverse mediums and the ever-changing technology. I intend to guide our clients through the dynamic advertising landscape and not just create compelling brand stories for them but also help distribute them. A rehaul of the old ways of advertising requires radical thinking, ingenuity, and passion, which can only be enabled in an ecosystem like tgthr.”
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.
