Brands
Google appoints Kanika Kalra as director of consumer apps and platforms marketing
Former McKinsey partner and Reckitt marketing leader to drive growth
MUMBAI: Google has appointed Kanika Kalra as director of consumer apps and platforms marketing, where she will lead marketing strategy and growth initiatives for the company’s consumer applications and platforms in the region.
Kalra brings more than two decades of experience across consulting, technology and consumer goods, with a career that has moved seamlessly between boardrooms, brand labs and digital platforms.
She joins Google after serving as regional marketing director for health at Reckitt in South Asia, a role she held from April 2024 to March 2026. There, she led marketing strategy for the company’s health portfolio across the region.
Before Reckitt, Kalra spent over six years at McKinsey & Company in Mumbai, rising through the ranks to become a partner. During her time at the consulting firm, she advised leading companies on growth strategy, marketing transformation and consumer engagement.
Her earlier career includes leadership roles across some of the biggest names in consumer brands and e-commerce. She served as vice president of marketing at Snapdeal, and previously worked at Unilever as global brand director, where she led core and innovation work on the Fair & Lovely portfolio.
Kalra also held marketing roles at Hindustan Unilever, PepsiCo Foods Private Limited and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, building experience across categories ranging from personal care to food and health products.
She began her professional journey at Genpact before moving into marketing and consulting roles that would define her career.
Kalra holds a PGDM in marketing from the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi.
With experience that spans consumer brands, consulting and digital platforms, Kalra’s move to Google marks a return to the fast-moving world of tech, where marketing meets scale and strategy meets speed.
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.
