MAM
Viacom launches new ad sales division to lead GenX products
MUMBAI: In a move to tap new social and data products for ad sales, Viacom has launched a new division within Viacom Ad Sales called Velocity Products Group, which is designed to bring multi-platform social partnerships, products, and services to clients.
In addition to offering a specialized set of Velocity Product experts that are aligned with each Ad Sales team, the group harnesses the collective power of Ad Sales’ social and data products to super-serve clients. The Velocity Products Group will also drive partnerships with key external social media platforms, including Snapchat, Twitter, and Tumblr.
“Intense demand for our innovative products during this Upfront season made it a strategic necessity to create a group singularly dedicated to evolving and developing our industry-leading offerings. As the industry’s largest sales distribution network, Viacom’s Ad Sales organization and the new Velocity Product Group bring our ad partners unrivalled creativity, cutting edge possibilities, and expertise to connect them with our highly-engaged millennial audience,” said Viacom head of sales Jeff Lucas.
Year-over-year, Ad Sales has doubled the number of advertisers utilizing the suite of product offerings from the Velocity Product Group, totaling more than 100 blue chip clients after this year’s Upfront.
Elizabeth Herbst-Brady, who reports to Lucas, oversees the team in her expanded role as executive vice president of Ad Sales Strategy and Products. Reporting to Herbst-Brady are SVP Strategy Kalina Nikolova as well as Sarah Iooss, who steps into the newly created role of SVP, Velocity Product Group. Deborah Brett has been named VP of Velocity Products Group reporting to Iooss.
This new team of nearly two dozen Velocity Product experts is charged with growing strategic partnerships, spearheading product development, and augmenting sales efforts across the entire Viacom network portfolio.
The group will also be the bridge between advertising partners and 645 million socially engaged fans across Viacom’s brands.
Velocity Product Group’s offerings consist of a comprehensive slate of solutions, including:
• Viacom Vantage – Using a combination of Viacom’s proprietary data and third party data from multiple sources, Vantage offers advertisers precise consumer targeting and unmatched predictive capabilities
• Echo – A strategic approach to harnessing Viacom’s unparalleled social reach with customized programs for ad partners. The groundbreaking analytics tool, Echo Social Graph, measures engagement deeply and holistically by tapping multiple social platforms, including those outside of Viacom’s own portfolio.
• The Social Talent Platform – Velocity makes talent engagement turnkey by giving advertisers direct access to a growing roster of social superstars for custom campaigns.
• Integration+ – This offering gives advertisers added flexibility and choice when customizing their branded entertainment opportunities.
• Pulse Real-Time Marketing – An exclusive multi-platform functionality that puts partners into the cultural conversation with sharable content in their authentic voice.
• Social Media Advertising Partnerships – Key social media partnerships with Twitter, Snapchat, and Tumblr bolster the reach and impact of social-by-design campaigns.
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.
