MAM
WebEngage & SGA PR partner to lead global discourse on retention marketing
Mumbai: WebEngage has partnered with SGA PR to drive global conversations on retention marketing. This collaboration signifies SGA PR’s expansion into the rapidly growing MarTech space and enhances its portfolio in the B2B SaaS ecosystem.
WebEngage delivers innovative retention marketing solutions, helping over 800 global brands, including IKEA, Unilever, Walmart, Myntra, and Airtel Africa, improve customer engagement and marketing ROI. The platform unifies data, automates campaigns, and offers AI-driven personalization, serving diverse industries like retail, BFSI, fintech, healthcare, and more.
Through this partnership, SGA PR will craft strategic communication narratives to help WebEngage cement its leadership in retention marketing, particularly in the APAC and MENA regions. With expertise in new-age communication, SGA PR will build WebEngage’s brand credibility through innovative ideas and storytelling.
WebEngage’s chief growth officer, Ankur Gattani expressed, “Customer Engagement and Retention have become more important than ever as brands move towards sustainable, profitable growth. In our mission to tie together high-quality user retention with enduring businesses and make this a mainstream conversation, we are happy to have a partner who understands new-age communications and brings agility and proactivity in their approach.”
SGA PR partner & joint CEO, Rahul Jain added, “We are excited to join forces with WebEngage that is building and driving the narrative for retention marketing and customer data platform (CDP) in the APAC and MENA region. Our program’s aim will be to establish strong brand credibility through innovative ideas and storytelling to establish the MarTech as the ‘partner of choice’ for retention marketing.”
This partnership further strengthens SGA PR’s MarTech portfolio, complementing its existing clientele across BFSI, fintech, B2B SaaS, and more.
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.
