MAM
Ogilvy appoints Reed Collins, Sonal Dabral to head APAC team
MUMBAI: Ogilvy announced today a new creative leadership team in the Asia Pacific region. Reed Collins and Sonal Dabral will lead the agency’s creative efforts throughout Asia Pacific, with Collins continuing his focus on North Asia while Dabral will take on the role of leading the agency’s South East and South Asia offices. Eugene Cheong, who has served as Ogilvy’s chief creative officer in Asia Pacific for the past decade, will be transitioning to a new role that is being finalised in joint conversations with Ogilvy and WPP.
Ogilvy worldwide chief creative officer Piyush Pandey said, “I would like to thank Eugene for his invaluable contributions throughout his tenure. He is a fantastic Creative champion, who has helped Ogilvy shine around the world”.
On the appointment of Dabral and Collins, Pandey added “I have great confidence in our next generation of leadership with Reed and Sonal to continue to deliver great creative solutions to all our clients.”
“Reed and Sonal are true Ogilvy giants with modern marketing skills and the right experiences to take the agency into the future. They are both dynamic, inspirational creative talents whose energy and ambition are infectious”, said Ogilvy co-chief executives Kent Wertime and Chris Reitermann.
Collins joined Ogilvy in 2013, has since served as chief creative officer in Hong Kong and was announced as chief creative officer, North Asia in 2018. Dabral will remain based in India, where he has held the positions of chief creative officer and vice chairman of South Asia. Collins and Dabral will work closely with Reitermann and Wertime in their business leadership roles, and with Piyush Pandey, as Ogilvy’s chief creative officer, worldwide.
“I am proud of all that we have accomplished over my ten years as regional Creative leader for Ogilvy. Our offices, according to Campaign Brief Asia, are amongst the hottest in their markets with a few exceptions of course. We have, in my unbiased view, the best team of CCOs and ECDs in the Ogilvy world. If you want proof, our being named Cannes “Asia Creative Agency of the Year” in 2018 is hard evidence of that.” added Cheong.
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.
