MAM
PR Professionals appoints Rohit Sharma as vice president
GURUGRAM: PR Professionals (PRP), the flagship company of the PRP Group, has appointed Rohit Sharma as vice president – client relations and content, strengthening its senior leadership as the firm accelerates its expansion plans.
Sharma brings over 22 years of experience across public relations, corporate communications, brand strategy, content management, corporate social responsibility, reputation management, sales and marketing, and global stakeholder and media relations. In his new role, he will lead PRP’s client relations and content verticals, supporting clients across infrastructure, education, climate action, governance and consumer sectors.
A mechanical engineer from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Sharma is also a gold medallist in international business from Amity University. Over his career, he has held senior roles at Bharti Realty Limited (now Bharti Real Estate), Uflex Limited, Thermax Limited, Sharaf Trading LLC (Dubai), the Global March Against Child Labour (office of Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi), and Viviid Emissions Reductions Universal.
Commenting on the appointment, Sarvesh Tiwari, founder and managing director of PR Professionals, said Sharma’s cross-sector experience and ability to design integrated communication strategies would play a key role in strengthening the firm’s client-first approach and operational excellence.
Sharma said he believes every product, service or idea carries a unique story, and effective stakeholder communication is the skill he has honed over two decades across sectors including engineering, real estate, retail, climate action, sustainable development, education, packaging and ethical value chains. He added that he looks forward to enhancing value for PRP’s clients through strategic and impactful communication.
The appointment comes as PR Professionals continues to scale its pan-India operations. Over the past year, the firm has onboarded senior professionals across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Lucknow, Patna and Vijayawada. In 2025, PRP added nearly 60 professionals, taking its total headcount to 250, and partnered with 75 new brands across sectors.
Founded in 2011, PR Professionals is a leading integrated communications agency with 12 offices across India and six international locations, offering public relations and branding solutions to help organisations build credibility and market leadership.
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.
