MAM
Dentsu Creative group India onboards Anu Gulati as executive creative director
MUMBAI: Dentsu Creative group India has announced the appointment of Anu Gulati as executive creative director. In her new role, Gulati will work with the group’s key talents to further drive and strengthen the network’s creative capabilities, thereby enhancing the client’s market growth. She will be based out of the network’s Delhi office and will report into dentsu Creative group India group chief creative officer Ajay Gahlaut.
Gulati brings with her over 15 years of experience in the industry. Earlier, she has held creative leadership positions at agencies like Ogilvy & Mather and DDB Mudra. In her previous roles, she has worked with brands like 7Up, McDonald’s, Sprite, KFC, Pizza Hut, Indian Tourism, UNICEF and WWF, to name a few. Additionally, she has also been pursuing her love for writing as a scriptwriter. Gulati has been a part of several award-winning campaigns that have bagged multiple national and international wins at the much-coveted Cannes, Kyoorius, One Show, Abbys, and D&AD.
Speaking on the appointment, Ajay Gahlaut said, “Anu Gulati is a rare creative person with an uncanny talent for creating interesting and engaging advertising that is also very effective in the marketplace. Exceptional talent, the mental stamina for extreme hard work and an obsessive desire to create a stellar piece of work on every brief, make Anu a valued member of any creative team. We are thrilled to welcome Anu on board; and look forward to seeing her weave her particular brand of magic into our brands.”
Anu Gulati added, “Unlike the usual setups, dentsu provides a unique and integrated environment. With the kind of talent and intent this place is brimming with, I am confident that these teams can do wonders not just for the network but for the advertising industry at large.”
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.
