MAM
Leo Burnett India elevates Sonal Chhajerh and Pravin Sutar as national creative directors
Mumbai: Leo Burnett India, part of Publicis Groupe India, has announced the elevation of Sonal Chhajerh and Pravin Sutar as national creative directors. In their previous roles with the agency, Sonal was group executive creative director and Pravin was head of creative, Leo Burnett Bangalore. Both will continue reporting to Rajdeepak Das, chief creative officer, Publicis Groupe, South Asia & chairman Leo Burnett South Asia.
Leo Burnett India stands for modern, transformational creativity that powers growth for brands and businesses. As the agency strengthens its creative leadership, these elevations mark the commitment to world-class creativity and technology, innovative new-age thinking and holistic, high-impact business solutions that strengthen brands.
On the promotions, Leo Burnett South Asia chief creative officer, Publicis Groupe, South Asia & chairman Rajdeepak Das said “At Burnett, we truly believe the driving factor for success is our people and culture. Over the past few years, Sonal and Pravin have gone above and beyond their designated roles to contribute to the success of Leo Burnett. And I am thrilled that they are now stepping in as co-pilots to our already strong creative leadership helmed by Sachin Kamble and Vikram Pandey as chief creative officers.
Sonal has the creative vision to help empower brands with our ‘Impact a Billion’ thinking. Pravin has been relentlessly working towards shaping our Bangalore office into a formidable force with his creative acumen and leadership skills. Together as National Creative Directors Sonal and Pravin will be uniquely placed to leverage their collective experience and creative vision to unlock creative effectiveness for both our brands and our people.”
Commenting on the leadership changes, Leo Burnett Publicis health & publicis business CEO of South Asia Amitesh Rao shares, “This has been a phenomenal year for us at Leo Burnett. And Sonal and Pravin have been a big part of our success story. Both are true representation of Leo Burnett, respected and admired by our clients, our partners, and our people. Their elevation will add more depth and value to our agency’s creative output and further accentuate our focus on solving business and human problems using creativity, innovation, data, and technology.”
Talking about his appointment, Pravin Sutar, National Creative Director, Leo Burnett India said, “Leo Burnett is right at the centre when it comes to creativity and innovation in the country. I’m really excited with the opportunity presented to me by Raj and Amitesh and am committed to finding fresh avenues and platforms to express ideas while preserving our unique Leo Burnett culture. And with the team we’ve built over the past few years, we’re more than ready to undertake this journey.”
Adding further about her appointment Leo Burnett India’s national creative director Sonal Chhajerh said, “I am excited to step into this role and build on the vision and outstanding progress we have achieved as an agency over the past few years. I truly believe that the future of advertising is using creativity as a force for good —impacting billions of lives through innovation and sustainability. I am thankful to Raj and Amitesh for trusting me with this responsibility and am looking forward to collaborating with colleagues and our brand partners to create work that is truly world-class, scalable, and makes a real difference.”
Sonal Chhajerh was until recently the Group Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett Mumbai. She is passionate about working on impact projects that deliver genuine change for clients and society at large. She leads the P&G Whisper account and was instrumental in the ‘Missing Chapter’ campaign which is one of the agency’s most acclaimed and awarded works. Pravin has been heading the creative in Leo Burnett Bangalore and has been instrumental in strengthening the Leo Burnett Bangalore offerings by managing the large portfolio of some of the biggest brands including Ikea, ACKO, RedBus, Kingfisher, Heineken, and Lenovo, to name a few.
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.
