Brands
Viacom18 awards media mandate to Madison Media
MUMBAI: Madison Media has been appointed as the agency-on-record for Viacom18 and will now handle the media planning and buying duties for its entire gamut of brands. It won the account after a multi-agency pitch.
Viacom18 Group CEO Sudhanshu Vats says, “We have constantly endeavored to build a portfolio of iconic, distinctive brands and leverage synergies wherever possible. As we step into our next decade, the consolidation of our media duties under one agency will allow us to drive economies of scale and dial up synergies within the network. In Madison, we found a passionate, confident and committed partner with a varied body of work that cuts across industries.”
Madison group CEO of media and OOH Vikram Sakhuja adds, “It is particularly exciting to be chosen as Viacom18’s consolidated media AOR at a point in time when it has successfully celebrated its first decade and is poised to develop segmented offerings for 1.3 billion Indians. Viacom18 is the country’s foremost storyteller with leading brands in almost every broadcast genre it operates in. Add to that the allied businesses the network has invested in–merchandising and live events and for an agency nothing can be headier and more dynamic than being a partner in the marketing of such varied content.”
Madison Media has been in the news recently for winning key accounts of Titan, Sri Sri Tatva and Xiaomi in Bangalore, Uber in Delhi and Bandhan Bank in Kolkata, apart from winning a host of other accounts across its office in the country.
Viacom18 recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
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.
