MAM
Famous Innovations onboards Mitali Srivastava Hough as national planning head
Mumbai: Famous Innovations has roped in Mitali Srivastava Hough as national planning head for its Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore offices. She will also lead strategic planning for Garage, the digital and content agency from the group.
With nearly 22 years of work experience, Hough is the first planner in Indian advertising who co-founded a successful ad agency called Utopeia Communicationz and followed it up by another agency called Equal that specialised in CSR solutions. An accomplished strategic planner, digital expert, trainer and researcher, she has undertaken in-depth thought leadership on various consumer groups and is known for her disruptive approach to brand building.
Her career spans over brands like Volkswagen, J&J, Reliance Retail, Bournvita, Neutrogena, Nivea, Big Bazaar, Asian Paints, etc. Prior to steering the ship as an entrepreneur, she worked in DDB Mudra as associate vice president, across verticals of DDB India, DDB Health & Lifestyle, Rapp India & Tribal DDB. She has also worked at Ogilvy & Mather and TBWA India. Her awards include golds at Effies, AME, James Burke & Indian Marketing Awards.
Famous Innovations founder and chief creative officer Raj Kamble commented, “At Famous Innovations, we don’t just make ads. We aim to be partners with our clients and take accountability for their business, growth, and brands. Hough is one of those rare planners who champions this approach and has been effective and disruptive with MNC brands as well as entrepreneur-led brands from India. We are really excited about our partnership with her. Famous Innovations is gearing up to take a bigger leap as a group by bringing such unique talent together.”
Hough adds, “After being an entrepreneur for so long, I have evolved as a planner, and I wasn’t comfortable joining a place that would put me in just one box. Kamble has created a very interesting hybrid creative, planning and digital culture in Famous that resonated with my journey. His sharp creative acumen matches an equally strong business mind and everyone in the Famous group is being led to follow this new approach to advertising and marketing which is media agnostic, insight-led, creatively sharp and ROI focused for the client.”
For the record, Famous Innovations is a seven-time winner of South Asia Independent Agency of the Year, Digital Agency of the Year 2021 and the second most awarded agency at Goafest Abby’s x The One Show. Its list of clients includes Haier, Burger King, Titan, Times Group, Unilever, Van Heusen, Platinum Jewelry, Pernod Ricard, AB InBev, etc
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.
