MAM
Café Coffee Day makes management-level appointments post founder VG Siddhartha’s tragic demise
MUMBAI: Following the tragic demise of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) founder VG Siddhartha, who was also known as the ‘Coffee King’ of India, the company board has made some key appointments in the top management. It has also resolved to thoroughly investigate the matters related to financial transactions, which were made outside the knowledge of the senior management, auditors, and the board, and were mentioned in Siddhartha’s last letter to his team and employees.
The Board has appointed SV Ranganath as the interim chairman of the board and Nitin Bagmane as an interim chief operating officer of the company. It has also constituted an executive committee comprising non-executive independent director SV Ranganath and CFO R Ram Mohan to exercise the powers previously vested with the chief executive officer of the company and the administrative committee constituted by the board in 2015.
It mentioned in a statement, “The board will, in due course, prepare a detailed charter of authorities vested in the executive committee and approve the same. The executive committee will, inter alia, explore opportunities to deleverage the Coffee Day group.”
VG Siddhartha went missing in the evening of 29 July while he was on his way to Mangaluru from Bengaluru. Around 6.30 pm, he asked his driver to stop the car at a bridge near Ullala and did not return. A panicked driver informed his family and the police. Siddhartha’s body was recovered from Netravathi river, today morning.
Before allegedly committing suicide, he had sent his employees a letter indicating that he is in debt. He also mentioned that tax authorities were harassing him.
Taking in account the same, the board wrote in its statement, “The board took cognizance of statements in the purported letter from VG Siddhartha relating to financial transactions outside the knowledge of the senior management, auditors and the board. While the authenticity of the letter is unverified and it is unclear whether these statements pertain to the company or the personal holdings of VG Siddhartha, the board took serious note of the same and resolved to thoroughly investigate this matter.”
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.
