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New Coke leadership in India, S West Asia
MUMBAI: The Coca-Cola Company and its Bottling Investments Group (BIG) announced today new leadership appointments for its India & South West Asia Business Unit and Hindustan Coca-Cola Bottling operations.
“As outlined by our president and chief operating officer James Quincey a few weeks ago, The Coca-Cola Company is designing a new Operating Model to support the next stage of our transformation into a growth-oriented, consumer-centered, total beverage company,” said The Coca-Cola Company president of the Asia-Pacific Group John Murphy, “Key components of this new Operating Model are a revitalized organizational capability and better system alignment to ensure that optimum execution multiplies our marketing plans and investment.”
BIG president Irial Finan, added: “India is the 6th largest market for The Coca-Cola Company in terms of volume. The Coca-Cola system operates approximately 60 factories, directly employs 25,000 people and sells our products through over 2.6 million retailers. Still, the Indian market has tremendous growth potential, and we believe the revitalized system leadership structure that we announce today will enable us to continue consolidating India as one of the most important growth engines for The Coca-Cola Company globally.”
In bringing this new structure to life, the following senior leadership appointments in the India and South West Asia Business Unit of The Coca-Cola Company, and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd will become effective May 1: Venkatesh Kini, currently President, India, and Southwest Asia Business Unit, who has capably served the company for 19 years, has decided to leave the company and return to the United States to pursue other opportunities outside the Coca-Cola system. “Over the past four years, Venkatesh has had a significant impact on the growth and success of our business in this very important market, and laid the foundation for a winning team that will enable us to continue capturing the great opportunities that remain ahead,” said John Murphy. Venkatesh will remain with the Company until the end of July to ensure a smooth transition with his successor.
T. “KK” Krishnakumar, who currently serves as the CEO and South West Asia Regional Director of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Limited, will replace Venkatesh as the president of the Company’s India and South West Asia Business Unit.
Murphy added, “KK is uniquely qualified for this role, having successfully led BIG’s operations in India and South West Asia since 2009. He is a strategic, well-rounded leader, and has been a catalyst for expanding our portfolio and driving growth in every position he has previously held.” KK joined the Coca-Cola system in 2004 and has advanced through a series of leadership roles including Region Manager and Regional Vice President.
Vamsi Mohan, who currently serves as the BIG’s region director for Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia, will, in turn, replace KK as south-west Asia regional director for Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. Finan said: “Vamsi joined the Coca-Cola system in 1998 and has held various senior leadership roles in Operations, Market Execution, General Management and also served as Vice President – Sales for Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd. We’re fortunate and very glad to have him back in this market.”
Christina Ruggiero, currently the chief procurement officer for the Coca-Cola System in North America, and President and CEO for Bottlers’ Sales & Services, LLC, will be reporting to Vamsi as the new CEO of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd. “Christina’s extensive experience aggregating and optimizing supplier and customer-related activities for the U.S. bottling franchise network will be instrumental in leading this next chapter for our bottling operations in India,” added Finan. Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Christina was Vice President, Procurement, for Diageo plc, where she led procurement and supply chain teams globally, including teams in the United States, Africa, Europe, and Russia.
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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.
