MAM
Sport18, TI Cycles announces 2nd edition of Bangalore Cyclothon
BANGALORE: Sport18, the sports marketing arm of the Network 18 group and TI Cycles of India (TI Cycles), announced the second edition of the BSA Hercules India Cyclothon (Cyclothon), a mass mobilisation cycling event to be held in Bangalore on 23 January.
Parts of the event will be broadcast live on CNBC Awaz and Suvarna News 24X7, besides which the radio partner 92.7 Big FM will run live updates.
The organisers aim to reinforce a cycling momentum in the city and establish that a few other activities can match this on the fitness and environment consciousness parameter. The previous edition in of the Cyclothon in Bangalore in October 2009 attracted around 6000 participants.
The brands associated with the event include LG (Green Ride partner), Deccan Chronicle (Associate partner) and Kingfisher Premium (Good Times partner). The event partners are MahindraREVA, 92.7Big FM, Suvarana News 24X7, CNBC TV 18, CNN-IBN, Talwalkars, Café Coffee Day and bookmyshow.com. The event will be conducted under the aegis of the CFI (Cycling Federation of India) and Network 18.
“Brand BSA and Hercules have touched millions of lives over the past 60 years. We have been promoting cycling in India through various programs like the Hercules MTB Himachal, BSA Hercules Duathlon, mountain biking tracks and rental programs at tourist destinations in India,” said TI Cycles General Manager-Marketing Rajesh Mani.
TI Cycles spends around 3 per cent of its revenues towards brand building, mass media communications, marketing, BTL and ATL activities. Based on its last year’s revenues of Rs.9.5 billion, the company spent approximately Rs 300 million towards these activities.
“About a third of our spends goes towards advertisement, and a major chunk of the Rs 100 million that we spent towards advertisement was on television,” revealed Mani.
JWT handles the creative duties for TI Cycles. The company has recently appointed Vizeum Media as the media buying agency.
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.
