MAM
Neo@Ogilvy enters into JV with Smile Group, appoints Sanjay Ramakrishnan as country head
MUMBAI:Ogilvy India has announced a joint venture between Neo@Ogilvy and Smile Group. The move will strengthen the agency’s performance marketing, e-commerce and mobile offerings. The JV will also set up a global media delivery hub to service Neo@Ogilvy’s global media operations.
Not only this, Neo@Ogilvy India has also announced the appointment of Sanjay Ramakrishnan as country head.
Talking on the JV, Ogilvy South Asia chairman and creative director Piyush Pandey said, “This JV is one more step ahead in our digital journey. Harish’s experience in Digital Media and eCommerce will help drive rapid growth in these areas. And Sanjay Ramakrishnan is a fantastic young business leader with the right skills to lead Neo@Ogilvy in India.”
Elaborating on the vision of the partnership Smile Group chairman Harish Bahl said, “The JV will help offer world class services to local and global clients of Ogilvy and Neo respectively, using the expertise and experience of Smile in the areas of performance marketing, e-commerce and mobile.” Adding he said, “Sanjay, who will be the country head of Neo@Ogilvy India, brings on board a good blend of e-retail and performance marketing expertise both in internet & mobile and is best positioned to build a leadership position for Neo India around this business focus, which we believe are the future high growth areas for digital agencies.”
Ramakrishnan has over 15 years experience across digital media, e-commerce, mobile, telecom and consumer technology. He moves in from Vizury where he was the GM for India, S.E. Asia and MENA; prior to this, he was SVP marketing at Myntra. He has also held senior marketing roles at Google, Intel, Geodesic and Worldspace.
The aim is to recast Neo@Ogilvy as one of the most effective digital media companies in the country says Ramakrishnan
OgilvyOne India president and country head Vikram Menon said, “We’re really excited with the JV with Smile Group. Strategically this fits perfectly into our plans to offer the best capability across digital to our clients. The Neo-Smile JV, with Sanjay at its helm, will do just that. He will ensure that Ogilvy is able to deliver the best across digital media, performance marketing, e-commerce and mobile.”
While OgilvyOne drives all digital strategy and creative services for clients in India, Neo@Ogilvy’s specific focus is on digital media, performance marketing, e-commerce and mobile marketing. Neo@Ogilvy’s client roster in India includes IBM, Diageo, British Airways, The Economist and The Which Group, among others.
On his appointment, Ramakrishnan said, “I am excited to be part of Ogilvy and drive this JV with the Smile Group. The aim is to recast Neo@Ogilvy as one of the most effective digital media companies in the country with a clear focus on performance marketing, mobile and e-commerce. I have been a marketer all my life and I believe there is a gap in the way paid digital media is intergrated with traditional marketing and communication.The goal is to change that through Neo@Ogilvy. End-to-end e-commerce solution is another unique offering that this JV brings to the table and I’m keen to use the skills I have to drive it.”
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.
