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Aaroha charts a new course with desi twist on modern leadership
MUMBAI: In an era where chaos is the new constant and ambiguity is a daily affair, a Hyderabad-based startup is turning eastward for answers to leadership. Aaroha, launched today, is on a mission to reshape leadership development in India through a human-centric lens rooted in Indian philosophy.
Founded by Kalpana Sinha, Haritha Kandalla, and Ketaki Kadekar industry veterans with over 70 years of collective experience, Aaroha brings together wisdom from the Vedas with practical frameworks to help leaders navigate the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world and its newer cousin, BANI (brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible).
“Traditional leadership models tend to emphasize the individualistic leader, while Indian philosophy talks about a leader as someone who takes the collective along, and that is the need of the hour given the VUCA-BANI world we live in,” said Aaroha co-founder and managing partner Kalpana Sinha. “Our approach redefines a leader to harness their natural strengths of adaptability and flexibility and also embrace an other-in approach towards leadership, which can enable organizations to create sustainable growth, retain key talent and foster innovation in increasingly complex business environments.”
Aaroha’s launch is backed by insights from its India Business Leaders Survey 2025, which drew responses from CXOs of both family-run and professionally managed firms more than half of which clock over 1 billion dollars in revenue. The top concern? Talent acquiring it, retaining it, and building a culture future-ready enough to keep it engaged.
The report revealed that leaders are struggling with tech adoption, accountability, and driving change, even as business expectations evolve faster than annual budgets. The call for leadership that goes beyond KPIs and job descriptions is growing louder.
Aaroha’s flagship offerings include leadership assessments, coaching, capability workshops, and organisational culture interventions. At the heart of it all is a proprietary framework that melds ancient Indian thought, think interdependence, self-awareness, dharma with modern tools for measurable business results.
The firm also focuses on fostering intergenerational collaboration, empowering next-gen talent, and addressing attrition by making purpose and learning part of the everyday leadership experience.
By tapping into India’s philosophical legacy and applying it to modern leadership challenges, Aaroha is scripting a new playbook, one that balances heart and hustle, vision and value. It’s not just about climbing the ladder anymore; it’s about knowing which one to lean on.
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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.
