MAM
Starcom launches independent agency FutureWorks to service Future Group
MUMBAI: Close on the heels of a humungous account win from Kishore Biyani’s Future Group, Starcom Media Vest Group has unveiled an independent agency called FutureWorks that will fully service the retail behemoth on strategic initiatives.
The media spend FutureWorks will handle has been pegged in excess of Rs 2 billion. Spearheading the initiative is Dinesh Singh Rathore as general maganer – India, he was previously heading Starcom’s Bangalore operations. Rathore will report to MD, India, West and South Manish Porwal.
Headquartered in Mumbai, it will operate as an autonomous associate unit of Starcom Worldwide and will work alongside its other specialist units. The company is scouting for professionals beyond the media business, apart from a few Starcom employees that have come on board. It will start with an initial team of around 20, which will be scaled up as the needs of the Future Group expand.
FutureWorks has highlighted the twin goals of delivering return on objectives and consumer connections to Future Group brands.
Rathore says that the agency will aim to reach out to the ‘consumer’ at multiple levels that could include movies, game shows and sport, including cricket.
The size of the business was reason enough for Starcom to approach the Future Group on setting up a special unit to service their account. Porwal said, “We believe that the communication needs of a retail brand is fundamentally different from that of packaged goods and other classical categories. To provide focus to the leveraging the Future Group’s opportunities, we decided to create a brand new unit, with its own vision, leadership and operating processes.”
Speaking on the single client agency, Pantaloons president – marketing Sanjeev Agrawal said that they are happy to partner with Starcom on their “journey of hyper growth”. In fact, he highlighted their quick approach as they recently initiated the co-sponsorship deal for season three of Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Future Group, whose flagship enterprise is Pantaloon Retail, operates through six verticals: Future Retail (encompassing all lines of retail business), Future Capital (financial products and services), Future Brands (all brands owned or managed by group companies), Future Space (management of retail real estate), Future Logistics (management of supply chain and distribution) and Future Media (development and management of retail media spaces).
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.
