MAM
Wunderman Thompson North America names Tom Murphy as chief creative officer
Mumbai: Creative talent Tom Murphy will join Wunderman Thompson North America as chief creative officer, the agency has announced. He will report to CEO Audrey Melofchik. Wunderman Thompson’s global chief creative officer, Bas Korsten, has been acting as NA CCO for most of 2022.
Known for his track record of creative excellence that drove McCann’s most celebrated work of the past decade, including the iconic “Fearless Girl,” Murphy has spent 16 years at McCann, most recently as North American CCO, and has influenced creative talent and effective work over the course of his career. His work has impacted brands including Verizon, Mastercard, Microsoft, Ulta Beauty, Lysol, Mucinex, MGM Resorts, NY Lottery, USPS, and HomeGoods.
“Wunderman Thompson has such a massive breadth of capabilities. When those capabilities meet creativity, they become superpowers,” said Tom Murphy. “From my earliest conversations with Audrey and Bas, I sensed their ambition for the future of Wunderman Thompson North America. On our first call, I underlined two key words in my notebook: ambition and creativity. I could immediately tell we value the same things and will achieve great things together.”
During Murphy’s tenure at McCann, he oversaw some of the most talked about and award-winning ideas of the past decade, ranging from “Fearless Girl” for State Street Global Advisors, the “True Name” campaign for Mastercard, “Universal Love” for MGM Resorts, “Generation Lockdown” for March for our Lives, and “Changing the Game” for Microsoft – which centred on the brand’s adaptive Xbox controller that makes gaming accessible to players with disabilities. He originally joined McCann as a group creative director in 2004, from DDB Chicago, where he worked on top brands like McDonald’s, Budweiser, and Bud Light.
“Growth challenges facing clients today require an agency partner steeped in expertise across their entire ecosystem with creative firepower to ignite it in completely new ways,” said Audrey Melofchik, who became CEO of Wunderman Thompson North America in 2021. “From the moment I met Tom, I knew he was the perfect partner to lead Wunderman Thompson NA as we blaze a trail of inspiring creativity and growth with our client partners. He is an amazing thinker, leader, and human being.”
“Tom coming on board is a testament to our future-forward creative ambitions for clients that we have as Wunderman Thompson in North America, as well as globally. He has proven himself as a powerful and inspiring creative leader that can impact business and culture,” said Wunderman Thompson global chief creative officer Bas Korsten. “I really can’t wait to see how Tom is going to inspire our ambitious clients and our people. He is the real deal.”
Beyond Tom’s appointment, Wunderman Thompson has been building out its bench of talent with the additions of FCB’s business development leader, Wunderman Thompson North America chief growth officer Laura Cona; Wunderman Thompson New York BBDO ECD Susan Golkin; Swift (a Wunderman Thompson Company) chief creative officer, BBH LA creative lead Ned McNeilage and Inclusive Design global head Josh Loebner. Earlier this year, they acquired influencer agency, Village Marketing.
Wunderman Thompson North America is enjoying momentum with a series of new business wins, including Snap and Courvoisier, while expanding its portfolio of work for Pfizer, Samsung, and Walgreens. In June, Wunderman Thompson was awarded the first BtoB Grand Prix at Cannes for Sherwin-Williams Speaking in Color, a voice-activated AI color system.
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.
