MAM
BBH India appoints Swati Balani as executive creative director, Mumbai
Mumbai: BBH India, a leading creative agency, part of Publicis Groupe India, has announced the appointment of Swati Balani as executive creative director (ECD), in Mumbai.
She will report to BBH India chief creative officer Parixit Bhattacharya in her new role.
Welcoming Balani to the barn, Bhattacharya said, “We are casting for a high talent density collective. Where every individual inspires the other and impacts the work positively. Swati represents the very best of our industry. Her work puts technology, data, and platforms to the service of great insights. She has taken a modern, social approach to marketing across a variety of projects. Swati will guide the output of some of our key brands while pushing the boundaries on breakthrough, non-traditional work. We want Swati to make the best work of her life with the team here while laughing the hardest she ever has.”
Balani has over 14 years of experience in the advertising and marketing industry with a combined knowledge of both traditional and digital platforms. Her expertise lies in combining creativity with tech and leveraging creativity while making use of digital platforms. She has worked with Ogilvy, DDB Mudra, FCB, AutumnGrey, and Sideways Consulting. Throughout her career, she has built several brands across various sectors, including fintech, healthcare, BFSI, consumer durables, tech startups, FMCG and more. Over the years, Balani has collaborated with leading brands across industries, including ITC, Burger King, USL Diageo, Microsoft, P&G, PepsiCo, and Aditya Birla among others.
Balani’s career has been marked by campaigns that have captivated the digital landscape. Notable achievements include spearheading Pepsico India’s first AR campaign for Slice, which showcased the inspiring stories of COVID warriors in lieu of traditional branding. She also played a pivotal role in the launch of Microsoft’s first AI chatbot in India and Diageo’s gifting portfolio with a consumer-first UGC (user-generated content)-led launch.
She has won several national and international advertising and marketing awards. In particular, her campaign for Netmeds, #SilenceCancerNotItsFight, clinched a Gold award in the Red Abby’s category. Balani has also been named Social Samosa Superwoman in 2023.
Speaking about her new role, Balani said, “Any creative individual dreams of a place that believes in standing out from the crowd. And I found just that at BBH! Their work has always set a benchmark in the industry, and I am excited to be a part of Parixit and Himanshu’s team that truly believes in the Zag philosophy. My goal is to create fun and memorable work for brands that surpass mediums and truly become a part of today’s culture. And of course, have fun while doing it!”
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.
