MAM
Good deeds, great returns dentsu clocks its ninth One Day for Change
MUMBAI: Sometimes, the biggest shifts begin with the smallest switches flipped. At dentsu India, that switch was thrown once again with the ninth edition of One Day for Change (ODfC), the network’s annual volunteering initiative that turns a single day on the calendar into weeks of collective impact.
Built around the idea that everyday choices can ripple outward, this year’s ODfC reflected dentsu’s Sanpo-Yoshi philosophy good for business, good for people, good for society and brought its Business to Business to Society (B2B2S) promise to life in distinctly human ways.
Far from a symbolic exercise, ODfC has become dentsu’s practical proof point that sustainability and social impact are not side projects but part of how the business works. Anchored in the company’s 2030 value creation strategy, the programme feeds real-world learning back into how dentsu designs inclusive, sustainability-led strategies for clients across markets.
For the 2025 edition, dentsu India partnered with Enabling Leadership, a Pragatee Foundation initiative focused on building life and leadership skills among children from underserved communities. Over four weeks, 122 dentsu volunteers worked with 73 students across multiple cities, combining hands-on building-block workshops hosted at dentsu offices with structured online mentoring sessions.
The sessions focused on skills that rarely fit neatly into textbooks communication, digital literacy and financial literacy while also nurturing creativity, adaptability, problem-solving and confidence. For dentsu’s employees, the experience offered something equally valuable: a close-up view of values-led leadership in action, mirroring the same approach the organisation brings to client work.
“One Day for Change reminds us that impact doesn’t always come from grand gestures,” said dentsu CEO for South Asia Harsha Razdan. “It often starts with the intent to do something small, consistently, for someone else. This initiative has grown into a reflection of who we want to be as an organisation responsible, empathetic and present.”
Dentsu president and chief strategy officer for South Asia Narayan Devanathan described ODfC as a working model of the company’s B2B2S philosophy. The value, he noted, lies not in scale but in sincerity, with moments that shape culture internally while sharpening how dentsu guides clients on their own sustainability journeys.
From the partner side, Enabling Leadership CEO Ravi Sonnad highlighted how the collaboration translated abstract ideas into lived experience for students, helping build skills around teamwork, resilience and creative thinking.
Now in its ninth year, One Day for Change continues to underline a simple but persuasive argument: when creativity and sustainability meet consistent action, business outcomes and social progress do not compete, they compound.
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.
