MAM
Lenskart announces its foray into the US market
Mumbai: Homegrown eyewear retailer Lenskart has announced its foray into the USA market and plans to open its first-ever tech centre in the retail capital city – New York.
Lenskart’s new tech hub is under development in New York City with investment to build a highly specialised technical team to tap into mature talent available in the region across product, design & consumer research, said the company in a statement.
“Expanding in the US brings us another step closer to transforming the vision of the world. While the US is a hypercompetitive market, we strongly believe we can bring greater dynamism to the way customers look at eyewear there,” said Lenskart, CEO & co-founder, Peyush Bansal. “Given our scale and global reach, Lenskart has the ability to bring a wide catalogue of over 2000 product styles to the US market, especially for new-age consumption patterns. We are also aiming to build a differentiated, never-seen-before experience backed by our brand, innovation, and technology. Through a Lenskart tech center in the US and dedicated technology & business teams operating from there, we will be successful in growing our business,” he added.
“For us, technical skills are table stakes, beyond that, what we are looking for are engineers with first principal thinking – who are excited to solve problems with a fresh perspective and to work on problems which have not been solved yet at this scale,” stated Lenskart, co-founder, Ramneek Khurana.
Lenskart has recently announced its expansion in Singapore and the Middle East with a projection to achieve growth to the tune of $15 billion by 2025.
The company provides a fully operational website lenskart.us on android play and an iOS app store with free delivery across all regions similar to its current practice in India, Singapore, and Middle East Asia.
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.
