MAM
Dentsu X retains top spot for third year in a row as fastest growing agency: RECMA’s report
Mumbai: Dentsu India has once again ranked amongst the top three, continuing its record-breaking growth velocity, in the latest RECMA Media Agency Ranking Report.
Dentsu International is a network designed for what’s next, helping clients predict and plan for disruptive future opportunities and create new paths to growth in the sustainable economy. This is delivered through the five global leadership brands: Carat, Dentsu Creative, Dentsu X, iProspect and Merkle, each with deep specialisms.
The recently published RECMA report calls out the stellar performance of each agency:
Dentsu X, as India’s fastest-growing media agency leading the chart with a 153 per cent growth rate for the past three years. It is India’s #2 agency since 2020, narrowing the gap with Mindshare in 2021. Driving experiences beyond exposures, Dentsu X engineers brand outcomes and growth.
iProspect, accelerating brands through a performance mindset, has clocked an impressive 83 per cent growth in 2021! Growing our brands at the intersection of culture, content, data, and tech is paying a dividend to our clients and our business.
And Carat, designing for people, has recorded a smart 60 per cent growth over the last year, delivering an unparallel capability to unlock real human understanding to connect people and brands by designing powerful and engaging experiences.
Dentsu Media South Asia CEO Divya Karani said, “Yes, of course, our clients and people value our vision, our continuous reinvention and rigour, but scaling at this unprecedented trajectory for the past three years is a huge validation! Even more gratifying is that all our media agencies, each with their unique proposition, are performing at full throttle. Transforming by design, Densu is planning the next steps even as we continue to scale. With our deep specialisation in media, creative and CXM, we are constantly focused on stitching up integrated business transformative solutions for our clients.”
Dentsu’s recently released global ad spend report forecasts India’s growth at 16 per cent, reaching $11 billion in 2022, well past the 2019 pre-pandemic level. Digital is expected to clock double the momentum, contributing 33 per cent of overall India’s spending. Dentsu is bullish on India and predicts India as the fastest growing market globally.
RECMA is the leading independent research company that reports and tracks the performance of media agencies around the globe. The report showcases the market share and growth of the media agencies based on their overall activity. The overall activity volume report, evaluating over 900 media agencies across 70 countries, is the reference quantitative ranking based on the activity volume, a metric including both traditional buying billings and non-traditional activities, which covers online paid media as well as fee-based activities in digital, data & analytics, content, marketing, and sponsorship.
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.
