MAM
Ogilvy & Mather India establishes new management structure
MUMBAI: Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) India has put in place a new management structure, which will be effective 1 March, 2015.
The announcement was made by O&M executive chairman and creative director – South Asia Piyush Pandey and O&M executive co-chairman and group chief operating officer – South Asia SN Rane.
In a statement, the duo said, “It is time that our very strong senior team joins us in all key management decisions of Ogilvy & Mather. Our clients should look forward to even greater impact from Ogilvy & Mather in the days ahead.”
In the new structure, the current Ogilvy India group chief digital officer Kunal Jeswani is promoted to Ogilvy & Mather India CEO. He will report directly to the chairmen’s office and will work in very close association with Geo/discipline heads, creative, planning and business leaders.
The current Ogilvy India executive finance director Hufrish Birdy is promoted to chief financial officer (CFO). She will also report directly to the chairmen’s office and work in close partnership with Jeswani, Geo and discipline heads and other key stake holders of the company.
Hephzibah Pathak will assume a new role as Ogilvy & Mather India global clients’ director. She will be associated with Vodafone, Mondelez (India+Global), KFC, Unilever, Coke and Fiat. Pathak, working with operation heads of 360 degree offerings, will be responsible for delivery that will meet client expectations. A detailed scope of work is being circulated amongst Geo/discipline heads and their business leaders.
The man who can be credited in building strong planning teams, Kawal Shoor has been promoted to national planning director. He will spearhead the next phase of development of planning and be responsible for the national planning agenda.
To top it all, the board of directors list has also been expanded. The existing India board comprising Pandey, Rane, Madhukar Sabnavis, Poran Malani, Pathak, Miles Young, Paul Heath, Paul Cocks and John Goodman is being expanded. The company has nominated Jeswani (CEO, India), Rajiv Rao (national creative director), Navin Talreja (president – Mumbai and Kolkata geography head) and Birdy (CFO, India) as additional Directors, which will be effective as soon as the legal compliances are completed.
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.
