Brands
Wakefit appoints Parul Gupta as chief financial officer
Seasoned finance leader brings experience across telecom, fashion and biotech
BENGALURU: Wakefit has appointed Parul Gupta as chief financial officer, bringing on board a seasoned finance leader with nearly two decades of experience across telecom, e-commerce and biotechnology.
Gupta steps into the role after a brief stint at Syngene International, where she served as head finance for the large molecule business. Before that, she spent over seven years at Myntra, steadily rising through the ranks to become senior director business finance, where she oversaw key areas including supply chain, marketing, customer growth, international brands and omni channel operations.
Her career path reflects a steady climb through high-growth organisations and complex financial environments. At Aircel, she handled corporate controller responsibilities, financial reporting, audits and major systems implementations, while earlier roles at Airtel saw her managing planning, reporting and business analysis across multiple circles.
From telecom towers to fashion carts and biotech labs, Gupta’s journey has been anything but one note. Her appointment at Wakefit signals the company’s intent to strengthen its financial strategy as it continues to scale its presence in India’s fast-evolving home and sleep solutions market.
Colleagues describe her as a finance professional who blends rigour with agility, someone equally comfortable with balance sheets and big-picture growth plans. At Wakefit, she is expected to play a central role in steering financial discipline while supporting the brand’s expansion ambitions.
With Gupta at the helm of its finance function, Wakefit appears to be setting the tone for its next phase of growth, one spreadsheet at a time.
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.
