MAM
IdeateLab appoints Ravi Bhaya as CEO
Mumbai: IdeateLab has announced the appointment of Ravi Bhaya as its new chief executive officer. This comes on the back of the company recently repositioning itself as “The Outcome People” and marks a strategic chapter for the company with Ravi possessing a wealth of experience in digital acceleration, marketing transformation and driving business growth spanning multiple continents including Europe, Africa and Asia.
Ravi brings to his role as CEO, a distinguished career at global marketing services organisations including Publicis Groupe and Serviceplan Group holding responsibilities across various management functions. These include client leadership roles, revenue growth, spearheading business restructuring initiatives and managing cross-functional teams. In 2020, leveraging his wide industry knowledge including that of diverse markets and cultures, Ravi co-founded RSquared Global Ventures (R2GV) providing strategic consulting to scale-ups within the martech, content, commerce and data space on growth, innovation and ROI. He holds an MBA from the University of San Francisco and spent his formative years as an ex-professional tennis player.
“IdeateLab has established itself as a leader in the digital-first marcom solutions space. My objective is to build on this foundation fostering innovation and expanding our digital capabilities to deliver measurable business outcomes for our clients, powered by creative excellence” said Bhaya. “Our focus is on integrating cutting-edge solutions and data-driven strategies to stay ahead of market trends and further strengthen IdeateLab’s position in the industry. I am excited at the opportunity and grateful for the faith the IdeateLab management and teams have entrusted upon me” Bhaya added.
Welcoming Ravi Bhaya to the team, director Vrutika Dawda said “We are delighted to welcome Ravi Bhaya to IdeateLab as our new CEO. Ravi’s extensive experience and proven track record make him a perfect fit to lead IdeateLab into its next phase of growth. We are confident that under his leadership, IdeateLab will continue to set benchmarks in the industry and propel the company into a new era of innovation and success.
With Ravi at the helm, IdeateLab is set to further solidify its position as a leader in the digital-first marcom solutions space, committed to pioneering new capabilities and strategies that meet the evolving needs of businesses amid their digital transformation journey.”
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.
