MAM
Ogilvy India announces leadership transition
Mumbai: Ogilvy India has announced an important leadership transition that will take effect from 1 January 2024. The transition will involve a variety of senior Ogilvy India veterans taking the next steps in their long tenure with the agency.
As chief advisor, Piyush Pandey, currently chairman global creative & executive chairman of Ogilvy India and one of India’s and the global industry’s leading creative figures, will work closely with the leadership team to ensure the impact and richness of the Ogilvy legacy transcends all functions and levels of Ogilvy in India. He is on a mission to make certain Ogilvy’s rich creative heritage continues and makes an impact particularly on the creative product and the digital transformation that has already seamlessly integrated to make Ogilvy India a modern marketing powerhouse.
In this role, Pandey will continue to work closely with major clients and the agency’s executive team to ensure that Ogilvy India maintains its important leadership role in India. Along with the leadership team, Pandey will be involved with key Ogilvy clients and new business prospects and the creative product of the agency. He will also continue to participate in various industry bodies and award forums.
SN Rane, group executive co-chairman India & COO South Asia, will work as business advisor to Ogilvy Asia Pacific. In his new role, Rane will work closely with Ogilvy Asia-Pacific to ensure that Ogilvy India has a smooth transition under the new management and to advise on various business operations and planning issues.
Hephzibah Pathak will take on the role of executive chairperson of Ogilvy India. She will be Ogilvy India’s first ever woman in this role. Hephzibah has been the most trusted partner for many of Ogilvy’s key clients. She has played an integral role in creating iconic, category defining transformative work on many of their brands. Importantly, Hephzibah has been an inspiring mentor to many current leaders and emerging talent in Ogilvy India. In this role, Hephzibah will lead and drive the strategic direction, growth and transformation agenda of the company.
VR Rajesh, another stalwart of the agency, will move from his current role as group president of Ogilvy India to chief executive officer (CEO) of the agency. Rajesh has led the charge in building and growing Ogilvy’s capabilities in modern marketing. In his role, he will partner Pathak in further accelerating the transformation agenda of the company. He will also be responsible for running the operations of the agency across offices in India and all its business units. He will also work closely with Hufrish Birdy, who will continue in her current role of chief financial officer (CFO), on various financial, commercial, and compliance issues for Ogilvy India. Birdy has been a strong and astute pillar who has partnered the leadership team over years to deliver healthy financial performance.
Further, Ogilvy India’s leadership transition will also involve important new appointments to the Ogilvy Board. Joining the Ogilvy India Board will be the agency’s three chief creative officers (CCO’s) – Harshad Rajadhyaksha, Kainaz Karmakar and Sukesh Nayak. The creative trio of Nayak, Karmakar and Rajadhyaksha are amongst the most awarded and celebrated in the country and have led the charge in creating industry defining modern work on many of Ogilvy’s valued clients.
The agency’s chief strategy officer (CSO), Prem Narayan also joins the board. Narayan has been a strategic partner to many of Ogilvy’s key clients and creative partners. He has championed the effectiveness culture at Ogilvy, making Ogilvy India one of the most effective agencies in the world.
All four of them will continue in their current, vital roles in the agency, leading the creative and strategic work of the agency.
These four executives will be joining Pathak, Rajesh and Birdy, who are already on the Board. All of these executives, working closely as a combined leadership team, will provide important continuity, experience, and commitment to the next phase of growth and Ogilvy India excellence for its clients.
Ogilvy global chief executive officer Devika Seth Bulchandani adds, “Piyush has done what true legends do. Nurtured and groomed a class of leaders who can assume the day to day running of the Ogilvy machine which will give him time to focus simply on the magic he has been so legendary in creating for our clients.
Together I trust the new leadership to take this iconic agency to new heights.”
Ogilvy chairman global creative & Ogilvy India executive chairman Piyush Pandey said, “Creativity and its impact on our client’s businesses is at the heart of Ogilvy. In keeping with my passion, I will continue to partner and guide the new leadership as always. Our joint purpose is to ensure that we not only maintain but also better our core strengths.”
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.
