MAM
GroupM’s Shan Jain joins Publicis Media India
MUMBAI: Former GroupM executive Shan Jain has joined Publicis MediaIndia as the head of business transformation practice. Jain’s last stint was with GroupM, as Principal Partner, Client Leadership at Mindshare.
Jain comes with more than 24 years of rich and diverse experience across Media, Account Planning, Strategy and Account management and has worked with Mindshare, RK Swamy BBDO, The Media Edge, FCB Ulka, Lowe, McCann and Ogilvy. Some of the key clients she has led and contributed to are HUL Personal Care, HUL Foods and beverage, GSK, ITC, Maruti and Gillete. She is passionate about brands and consumer journeys and has to her credit multiple awards including Spikes and Festival of Media Asia and Festival of Media Global. While it is a national role, she will be based out of Gurgaon.
Publicis Media India CEO Anupriya Acharya said, “Business Transformation Practice of Publicis Media unlocks growth by re-engineering our client’s customer experience through a combination of talent and technology. Shan will be supported by Gautham Ram Pingali in this area who himself has a great experience around technology and its far-reaching impact on clients businesses. He also continues to lead the Content Practice in PM India.”
Jain said, “The excellent data, analytics and tech support that I can lean on within the group as well as the extended expertise for Publicis. Sapient puts us in a very advantageous position in the market to strike these conversations with clients.
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.
