MAM
ace turtle appoints three senior leaders to drive business growth
Mumbai: ace turtle, a technology-native retail company has announced the appointment of three distinguished leaders to its senior management team. Rahul Rajan has been appointed as chief business officer – retail of fashion brands, Agnes Raja George as AVP and business head of Wrangler & central planning and Jitender Singh as AVP & business head of Lee. These strategic hires aim to bolster ace turtle’s growth and further its goal of revolutionising retail through technology.
Commenting on the appointments, ace turtle CEO Nitin Chhabra said, “We are excited to welcome Rahul, Agnes and Jitender to our leadership team. All of them bring extensive experience in retail and technology along with proven track records that will be invaluable as we continue to drive strong business growth. We continue to leverage our unique technology-driven operating model to launch new brands and scale the business of existing brands across India strengthening our position in the Indian retail industry and delivering exceptional value to our customers.”
Rajan will help drive growth across online and offline retail channels for all the fashion brands in ace turtle’s portfolio. He joins ace turtle with 15 years of experience, including seven years as a successful business operator and previously as a strategy and investment professional. Rahul’s expertise spans P&L management, strategy and business planning, business development and creating product and tech roadmaps. He joins ace turtle from Flipkart where he played a pivotal role in building new businesses in beauty, FMCG and fast fashion, and scaling complex multi-billion-dollar apparel businesses. He holds an MBA from IIM Mumbai.
George, with close to 23 years of experience in the fashion retail industry, Agnes specialises in P&L management, brand building, marketing, inventory planning, cash flow management and supply chain management. He has a proven track record in managing brands across department stores, exclusive brand stores, online marketplaces, and multi-brand outlet trade in India. Before joining ace turtle, Agnes founded and scaled the women’s wear brand De Moza and held various leadership roles at Landmark Group India, Aditya Birla Fashion and Lifestyle.
Singh brings 22 years of experience across online and offline channels, and across sports & fitness, lifestyle, FMCG and consumer durable categories. He has a strong background in building and leading direct and matrix teams to drive sustainable business growth. Before joining ace turtle, Jitender was senior director at Myntra, where he significantly grew the HRX and Nautica brands. His previous experience includes roles at Decathlon, 3M, Café Coffee Day, and TTK Prestige.
Since 2023, ace turtle has expanded its leadership team significantly to enable rapid and sustainable growth as it continues to expand its licensed brands portfolio. The company is the exclusive licensee of iconic global denim brands Lee and Wrangler, globally renowned toy retail chain toys “R” Us and Babie “R” Us and California-based casual wear brand Dockers for India and other South Asian markets.
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.
