MAM
Orchard Advertising strengthens its creative team
MUMBAI: Orchard Advertising, a part of the Leo Burnett Group, has strengthened its creative team with the appointment of Vinod Eshwer and Neel Roy Cruz as executive creative directors based at its Bengaluru office.
The duo joins from McCann Bangalore and will report to Leo Burnett India CCO RajDeepak Das.
Speaking on the appointment, Das said, “Our extensive 5-month hunt for a creative leadership team at Orchard Bangalore ended with Vinod and Neel, who are extremely talented individuals having a strong desire to produce new-age integrated work by thinking beyond traditional media and delivering conversations, acts, and experiences to help brands achieve their goals in the marketplace.”
Orchard Advertising CCO Kaizad Pardiwalla added, “Vinod and Neel coming on board to lead Orchard Bangalore’s creative team is a decisive step in making Orchard one of the best integrated communications company in India. Both are a highly talented and celebrated team and their creative ideology is in sync with that of Orchard India’s i.e. to create acts based on strong ideas and insights which help bring alive the purpose of the brands and create a positive impact on our clients’ businesses.”
The duo said, “When Raj revealed the agency’s plans and the journey it is embarking upon by handpicking talent and encouraging them to think beyond traditional media, and to communicate in new ways using digital and technology made us pack our bags and hop on board. We are truly living in exciting times where commerce and communication are being shaped and reshaped with every click and swipe. We have got e-butterflies in our bellies.”
Both Eshwer and Cruz have more than 15 years of advertising experience. Some of the brands that they have worked on together include TVS, Tata Beverages, Britannia and ITC.
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.
