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Titan announces leadership reshuffle in jewellery and watches
BENGALURU: Titan Co Ltd has announced key appointments within its senior management, effective later this year and early next. These changes follow previous intimations regarding the succession of C.K. Venkataraman as managing director and the resignation of Suparna Mitra, CEO of the watches division.
Arun Narayan, currently overseeing the Tanishq India business for retail, marketing, and merchandising, is set to become the chief executive officer of the jewellery division from 1 January 2026. He will succeed Ajoy Chawla, who is slated to take over as managing director on the same date.
A post-graduate from IIM Calcutta and a veteran of the Tata Administrative Services cadre, Narayan brings nearly three decades of experience in retail, marketing, and sales leadership roles within the Tata group and Titan. Since April 2020, he has been leading the Tanishq India business and previously held key positions as regional business head (west, all categories), Helios business head, and national sales & retail head for Titan watches.
Meanwhile, Kuruvilla Markose, currently the CEO of Titan’s international business division, will take over as the chief executive officer of the watches division from 13 August 2025. He steps into the role vacated by Suparna Mitra. Markose, who holds degrees in agriculture and an MBA from IIFT, New Delhi, also joined the Tata Administrative Services in 1995. His three decades of experience span diverse sectors including FMCG, telecom, BPO, consulting, digital, and retail across the Tata group. He joined Titan in 2015 as chief digital officer and has been leading the company’s international expansion in watches, jewellery, and eyecare as CEO of the international business division.
These appointments are part of a broader leadership transition within the company’s senior management.
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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.
