MAM
From corporate boardroom to marathon podium: Kavita Chand’s extraordinary transformation
MUMBAI: In the pre-dawn chill of New Delhi, as most of the city slept, Kavita Chand crossed the finish line of the New Delhi Marathon on 23 February 2025 with the timer reading 1:39:52—finally breaking the elusive 100-minute barrier for the half marathon distance. The achievement earned her a gold medal in her age category and marked a personal best by two minutes, but for Chand, it represented something far more significant: validation of one of the boldest decisions of her life.
“Finally sub 100 half marathon… Podium gold in age category. Gratitude always,” Chand shared in a characteristically understated social media post that belied the magnitude of her journey from corporate executive to competitive athlete.
Just seven months earlier, Chand had walked away from her position as vice president of media at Kantar, where she had built an impressive 11-year career. The Mumbai-based media professional had previously held prestigious positions at Lintas Media Group, MEC, and Madison Communications, where she specialized in strategic planning and new business development. Her corporate trajectory had been steady and successful—the kind many professionals aspire to.
But beneath the surface of her corporate success, Chand had been nurturing a growing passion for distance running. What began as early morning runs to manage workplace stress gradually evolved into a serious pursuit. Colleagues recall her meticulous training schedules wedged between business meetings and her occasional disappearances during lunch breaks for quick training sessions.
“Kavita always brought the same intensity to her running as she did to client presentations,” recalls a former colleague from Kantar. “There was a methodical precision to everything she did—whether analysing media metrics or planning her marathon training splits.”
The decision to leave the corporate world wasn’t made lightly. After competing in several marathon runswhile balancing her demanding career, Chand began to question whether she could reach her full athletic potential while devoting most of her energy to media strategy. In July 2024, she made the leap, trading boardroom presentations for full-time training.
“It wasn’t a decision I made lightly,” Chand revealed in a rare interview with a running magazine. “I had financial considerations, career implications, and honestly, plenty of self-doubt. But I kept coming back to one question: ‘When I’m eighty, which will I regret more—not becoming a CMO or not discovering my potential as an athlete?’”
The results have been remarkable. Since focusing exclusively on her athletic career, Chand has competed in races across India and globally, steadily improving her times and building a reputation in distance running circles. Coaches note her analytical approach to training—the same skills that once helped her develop media strategies now applied to understanding lactate thresholds and optimizing recovery periods.
By November 2024, the reinvention began showing results. At the Bengaluru Half Marathon, she clocked 1:41:45, winning silver in her category. December brought a personal best in Pune at 1:40:58.
Throughout this period, Chand supplemented her running with high-altitude treks in the Himalayas, laying groundwork for her mountaineering aspirations. Weekend excursions to elevations above 10,000 feet became regular features of her training calendar.
“The mountains teach patience and humility in ways that road racing cannot,” she noted on her increasingly popular blog documenting her journey. “When you’re at 14,000 feet, you learn to respect nature’s timetable, not your own.”
The sub-100 minute half marathon in New Delhi represented more than just a time benchmark—it validated her unconventional choice to step away from corporate success at its peak. The gold medal performance immediately qualified her for several elite racing events previously beyond her reach. 
Beyond her personal achievement, Chand’s journey has inspired a movement within Mumbai’s corporate community. She now leads “Corporate to Competitor” weekend training groups specifically designed for professionals considering similar transitions. Her transformation has inspired many in her network of over 3,200 followers, particularly professionals who harbour dreams of pursuing their own passions. Several former colleagues have taken up running inspired by her example, and she occasionally hosts weekend training sessions for beginners in Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
“What makes Kavita’s journey special isn’t just the athletic achievement,” says a running club member who trains with her regularly. “It’s that she had the courage to completely reinvent herself at the peak of her corporate career, trusting that her passion could become her new purpose.”
As for what’s next, Chand remains characteristically focused on the immediate horizon. Sources close to her suggest she’s targeting a full marathon in under 3:30 next season—another significant milestone for someone who five years ago had never run more than five kilometres at a stretch.
Her mountaineering ambitions continue to develop in parallel, with plans reportedly underway for an expedition to a 6,000-meter Himalayan peak in late 2025. The complementary training regimens for both pursuits have created a year-round athletic focus that replaces the quarterly business cycles that once structured her life.
For now, she celebrates her sub-100 minute half marathon—not just as an athletic achievement, but as affirmation that sometimes the most rewarding finish lines are the ones that require us to leave our comfort zones far behind.
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.
