MAM
Bhargava new DAN Performance Group CEO; Rubeena to lead iProspect
MUMBAI: iProspect India, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has appointed Rubeena Singh as its CEO effective this December, as its former CEO Vivek Bhargava is being elevated to a larger role of CEO of DAN Performance Group.
Bhargava will head all the Digital Performance Agencies of Dentsu Aegis Media. In this new arrangement, Rubeena Singh will report into Vivek Bhargava.
Prior to iProspect India, Rubeena was COO, Moneycontrol.com for over three years, wherein she spearheaded business strategy, marketing, sales, operations and P&L. In her earlier 12-year stint with Network18, she has held various senior positions across its print and TV properties including Forbes India, CNBC TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNN News 18 and News18 India. Before joining Network 18, Rubeena spent four years at Star TV India, where she helped build recognition for Star News in the highly cluttered Hindi news space.
Bhargava said, “Rubeena’s vast experience in all three media formats – broadcast, print and digital will give iProspect India a competitive advantage as the performance industry makes this transition. Moreover, having Rubeena lead iProspect India will allow me to launch the other performance brands of Dentsu Aegis Media into India.”
Singh said, “To me, the macro and micro trends of India becoming a truly digitally interconnected nation of over a billion people are now converging. This will have huge ramifications for businesses and how they connect with their customers. Having spent time in both print as well as TV media, I think the shift in allocation of media spends from traditional to digital will happen faster than thought before.”
“iProspect India will be in pole position to emerge as a trusted advisor to its clients, helping them navigate these tumultuous times and guide them on maximizing returns on their marketing and media spends,” she added
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.
