MAM
Chance to demonstrate proven global tools in India: Havas’s new digital head Nitin Karkara
MUMBAI: Havas Media Group India has appointed Nitin Karkara as head – Digital, to promote and drive growth for the 360 degree digital offering of Havas Media in India for existing and new clients.
Havas Media Group India and south Asia CEO Anita Nayyar said, “Nitin has the rare mix of leading from the front, both from the client and agency side. We’ve had tremendous organic digital expansion. Although, digital cum mobile has been a core part of every new business win, Havas Media today is a firmly established fully integrated media company providing both online and offline solutions. Collaboration is the cornerstone of our unified operating model, allowing us to deliver 100 per cent accountability and ideas that flourish without boundaries.”
Havas Media Group India MD Mohit Joshi added, “Our Digital at the core and Meaningful Connections Planning philosophy has always impressed clients. Nitin will only add more value and strengthen our philosophy by nailing the clients’ challenges in the context of Digital & Mobile Marketing.”
Karkara said, “Havas Media Group is one of the pioneers in bringing their integrated media and creative offerings with specialized proprietary global tools for developing strategy, planning, media buying, analytics, and reporting. This is a huge opportunity for me to demonstrate these proven global specialized tools and frameworks in the Indian market and create value for existing and new clients. This will also help us further integrate client businesses and successfully partner with them in their overall marketing stories.”
Having graduated from University of British Columbia, Canada, Nitin brings to the agency, an experience of 16+ years in business development, brand strategy, product marketing, mobile and e-commerce. Nitin previously was the G.M. and Head of Digital (HHP Division), Cheil Worldwide and prior Digital Marketing Lead – India & South West Asia, The Coca-Cola Company. He started his career with Samsung and since then has been associated with companies like Sapient India, Microsoft in Wunderman, IBM, ITC Hotels, Manipal Education and Vodafone in OgilvyOne, Fritolays, GSK, Readers Digest and Tetrapak in ISHIR Digital.
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.
