MAM
Selva Prabu steps up as director content marketing Tamil
CHENNAI: Selva Prabu has pressed play on a new chapter in his career, taking charge as director, content marketing for Tamil business at JioStar, overseeing strategy for JioHotstar and Star Vijay. Based in Chennai, the role places him at the heart of one of India’s most competitive and culturally vibrant media markets.
Sharing the news, Prabu said he was excited about the road ahead, a sentiment that fits neatly with a career built on curiosity, reinvention and a keen understanding of audiences. His appointment marks a steady rise within the organisation, where he has spent the past four years shaping marketing initiatives and steering brand narratives.
Before stepping into the director’s chair in November 2025, Prabu served as senior manager, marketing at JioStar, where he worked across campaigns, partnerships and content positioning. His ability to blend data with instinct has made him a familiar name in media marketing circles.
Prabu’s professional story, however, began well before streaming platforms and television ratings dashboards. He cut his teeth in journalism-led organisations, notably Deccan Herald, where he worked as senior brand manager. There, he helped build product portfolios, sharpened reader insight frameworks and worked closely with editorial teams to ensure that business sense never drowned out storytelling.
An even longer chapter unfolded at The Hindu Group, where Prabu handled brands including BusinessLine, Sportstar, Frontline and The Hindu Lounge. His work ranged from relaunching legacy titles and creating brand events to setting up the group’s first experience store in Chennai. Notably, he played a role in expanding community-led initiatives and managing large-scale public campaigns, proving that marketing can be both commercial and civic-minded.
Earlier stints at Wan-Ifra, Ogilvy and Mphasis rounded out his profile, giving him exposure to training, consulting, client servicing and even technology-led quality assurance. It is an unusually broad foundation for someone now tasked with marketing entertainment, but perhaps that is the point.
As Tamil content continues to travel from living rooms to mobile screens, Prabu’s mix of newsroom discipline and brand-building flair may be just what the script calls for.
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.
