MAM
Foodpanda assigns creative mandate to Happy mcgarrybowen
MUMBAI: Following a multi-agency pitch process and numerous rounds of evaluation, online food delivery marketplace Foodpanda, has awarded its creative mandate to Dentsu Aegis Network’s creative agency, Happy mcgarrybowen.
Foodpanda was acquired by Ola Cabs in December last year.
The pitch for the creative mandate included both advertising and design disciplines, as the startup looks to revamp its identity after the alignment with Ola. After a tight race, both the design and the brand communications mandates were awarded to Happy mcgarrybowen, who in the past has helped carve a niche for flagship startups like Flipkart, Myntra and Ola.
Ola Cabs CEO Bhavish Aggarwal says, “At Foodpanda, our mission is to connect deeper with our love and passion for food, and build not just a great delivery experience but also a great food experience. We trust that Happy mcgarrybowen would be able to take that narrative and ethos to the world with strong design and visual communication capabilities.”
Foodpanda head of marketing Anshul Khandelwal adds, “We distinctly understand the need to build a strong and differentiated brand that people love. Being a food experience platform, we intend to constantly innovate to build foodie-first solutions for India. Considering Happy Mcgarrybowen’s work portfolio, we are confident that the association will ensure an effective brand strategy and communications.”
Happy mcgarrybowen has been tasked with re-thinking the brand’s design language, which includes reinterpreting its logo and visual identity for the present-day. The advertising and communications will follow suit to help the brand form a bond with consumers in this ever-changing world of transactional relationships.
Happy mcgarrybowen CEO Kartik Iyer adds, “In a time where the market has already been created, we are proud to have won the mandates in such a competitive environment. We’re raring to go and leap ahead with Foodpanda right to the top.”
Happy mcgarrybowen CCO PM Praveen Das mentions, “Today brands are ubiquitously present on the digital media, therefore corporate identity too has evolved into a dynamic form. This is the age of the animated logos, GIFs, sonic signatures, design thinking and so on. We are very excited to work on evolving the Foodpanda brand identity by giving it an emergent, contemporary twist and bring it alive to a youthful audience who is so much into food these days.”
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.
