Brands
Senjam Raj Sekhar joins Air India as global head of communications
Former MPL and Flipkart communications lead takes charge at Tata-owned airline
NEW DELHI: Air India has named Senjam Raj Sekhar as its new global head of communications, bringing on board a seasoned reputation strategist at a time when the Tata Group-owned airline is deep into its transformation journey.
Sekhar announced the move, calling it both an honour and a responsibility. He described Air India as an enduring emblem of the country’s aviation heritage, now entering a new phase under the Tata Group as it aims to evolve into a world class global airline with an Indian heart.
He said he looks forward to working with the communications team to tell the airline’s story as it charts its path to join the ranks of the world’s finest carriers.
Sekhar joins the airline after a five year stint at Mobile Premier League, where he served as head, global communications. At the gaming platform, he led reputation, policy and corporate communications during a period marked by regulatory shifts and intense competition. Campaigns under his leadership picked up multiple honours, including top prizes at the South Asia Sabre Awards and the ET Kaleidoscope Awards.
Before MPL, he was head of corporate communications at Flipkart, where he helped shape the company’s reputation and launched the owned media platform Flipkart Stories. His earlier roles include director and head, group corporate communications at Vedanta Resources, and senior vice president and head, group corporate communications at Bharti Enterprises.
Sekhar also held leadership positions at Samsung Electronics and global public relations firms Burson Marsteller and Weber Shandwick, working across technology, telecom, consumer and corporate brands.
With over two decades in strategic communications across sectors and geographies, Sekhar now steps into Air India at a pivotal moment, as the airline seeks to rewrite its narrative and reclaim a place among the world’s most admired carriers.
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.
