Brands
Oppo ropes in Hrithik & Sonam as brand ambassadors for South Asia
MUMBAI: Smartphone brand Oppo has rung in the year 2016 by roping in Hrithik Roshan and Sonam Kapoor as its South Asia region brand ambassadors.
The actors have been a part of the brand’s India journey since 2014.
Oppo vice president and international mobile business managing director Sky Li said, “As Oppo celebrates its second year anniversary in India, it gives me immense pleasure to announce Hrithik and Sonam as Oppo brand ambassadors. Both Hrithik and Sonam are youth icons and are looked up to for their style and attitude, which is completely in tune with our brand philosophy, which is about young at heart and pursuing for perfection, and always be a trendsetter. We encourage consumers to be experts in photography and be trend setters like our brand ambassadors who have influenced us with their astounding pictures.”
Roshan said, “I have always loved the stylish and technologically superior Oppo phones and have many cherished memories clicked with my first Oppo N1 smartphone with rotating camera. I am proud of the brand’s growth in India and am very excited to be a part of yet another successful innings of the brand in India in 2016.”
Kapoor added, “My association with Oppo echoes my belief in the brand’s philosophy of marrying technology with style and elegance as a phone is increasingly becoming a lifestyle statement especially amongst the youth. I am pleased to be associated with Oppo, which caters to the consumers with exceptional products.”
It may be recalled that Oppo is the Official Global Partner worldwide for the mobile phone category with International Cricket Council (ICC) for four years from 2016 – 2019. Apart from this, the brand has also inked a three-year partnership with FC Barcelona as global partner as well as with America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) Cycle 22 in 2015, to bring a range of stylish devices to the popular reality TV show.
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.
