MAM
Dentsu Creative India appoints Ajeet Shukla as group executive creative director
Mumbai: Dentsu Creative India on Wednesday announced the appointment of Ajeet Shukla as group executive creative director. He will report to Taproot Dentsu and Isobar India chief creative officer Aalap Desai.
In his new role, Shukla will drive Dentsu Creative’s global proposition to transform brands and businesses through the power of ‘Modern Creativity’ in the western region of the country. His focus will be to breathe life into the best possible creative solutions that are strongly anchored in culture, innovation, and technology, said the agency in a statement.
Prior to this, Shukla was with Publicis India as executive creative director. In his professional journey so far, Shukla has worked with brands like IPL, ZEE, Disney+ Hotstar, TATA Salt, Ferrero Rocher, Heineken, Amstel, Skoda, Aegon Life, TATA AIG, HDFC MF, HDFC Bank, BPCL, Mak Lubricant, CHINGS, ZEE5, Dish TV, Emami Navratna, Ghadi, among others.
With more than 16 years of experience, Ajeet has won many national and international awards like Abbys, Kyoorius, Mirchi Kaan, Effies, Adfest, Promax Asia, to name a few. In addition to this, some of his notable works include IPL’s “Bulavaa aaya hai,” Aegon Life’s “Aegon toh tension gone,” Champions Tennis League’s “Tennis Ball,” Tata Salt’s “Namak ki baat,” Sony Six’s “Har koi six lagayega,” and ZEE5’s “Dekhte reh jaogey.”
Speaking on the appointment, Aalap Desai said, “Right now, Dentsu Creative is a wonderful work in progress. It is at this time when you need the right people to join in and add to it. Ajeet fits that profile on every count. His body of work is brilliant, and his attitude and love for business are contagious. I am glad to have him on board for the journey.”
Shukla added, “The bigger the challenge, the bigger the opportunity. And I am thrilled to take this opportunity in this role. It would really be amazing to work in such a great creative environment filled with the best of the creative minds in the industry. I really look forward to doing some great work here.”
Dentsu Creative India was recently declared the ‘Agency of The Year’ at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2022-a first-ever for India. It also lifted a Titanium for the country for its ‘Unfiltered History Tour (UHT)’ campaign in addition to bagging three Grand Prix—another first, two Gold Lions and three Silver Lions—making UHT the most awarded work not only from India but globally.
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.
