MAM
Ajeeta Bharadwaj joins Wondrlab as chief strategy officer
NEW DELHI: Platform-first startup Wondrlab has appointed Ajeeta Bharadwaj as chief strategy officer. Bharadwaj will be based out of Mumbai and will oversee the entire strategic planning function at the agency. She will report to Wondrlab co-founder and managing partner – content platform Rakesh Hinduja.
Bharadwaj’s mandate at Wondrlab involves taking a deep dive into human journeys via a platform-first lens. She will leverage her cross-category experience of brand insights and human behaviour to create world-class go-to-market strategies for clients’ businesses.
Rakesh Hinduja said, “I can think of no one better to lead Wondrlab’s strategy piece than Ajeeta. We have worked together extensively and I know the excellent thinking that she can bring to the table. Ajeeta isn’t just a strategist, but someone who deep dives into a client’s business to create contemporary solutions. I am confident that she will harness all her knowledge and experience at Wondrlab to help clients win strategically.”
In a career spanning 20 years, Bharadwaj has worked with the Publicis network for 18 years and led the strategic planning function for Leo Burnett Mumbai before moving on. She was also the national planning director at Wunderman Thompson.
“There is an infectious energy about Wondrlab and I look forward to adding to it. I have worked with Saurabh, Rakesh and Vandana and have seen the transformational solutions that came out of this collaboration. I also find the focus on platform-first thinking, extremely relevant. As consumers, we use different platforms differently and adding this understanding to strategy can get the brand entrenched better in the purchase process. It is an exciting vision and the attempt will be to consistently look for data-backed, dynamic solutions that deliver on this,” she said.
Apart from creating an agile planning team that brought home metals from Effies, Cannes, Spikes, and WARC Strategy Awards, Bharadwaj was also a global champion of the Leo Burnett branding system ‘Humankind’ and is expected to drive tools and data-based planning culture in the agency.
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.
