Santosh Padhi, Ayesha Ghosh exit W+K India

Santosh Padhi (Paddy) and Ayesha Ghosh have tendered their resignations at W+K India.

While Santosh Padhi is the Chief Creative Officer of W+K India, Ayesha Ghosh is the President with the agency.

Shreekant Srinivasan, Head of Delhi, has also resigned.

Santosh Padhi joined W+K as CCO in early 2022, and was joined by Ayesha Ghosh shortly after. Together they opened W+K in Mumbai, and oversaw creative and business operations across Mumbai and Delhi. Combined, both offices created campaigns for these giant brands Jio 5G, Jio Fibre, Hero Vida, Jockey, Jindal Steel, Casio G-Shock, Hero Cycles, Firefox, Zoya Solitaires, Brownkind Skin care, Whistle dental care, among others.

Santosh Padhi said: “I came into the W+K family with lots of excitement as I always followed their amazing work during my Taproot days. I’m super proud that along with Ayesha and the solid team we managed to get some of the biggest brands in the nation, and had success on every front, be it people, reputation or clientele. We won over a dozen businesses and have managed to produce some beautiful work on the brands mentioned above. Not only me but we all really enjoyed the freedom the global team gave us on every front with total autonomy and many other wonderful things which I will always remember."

“Unfortunately like most senior creative individuals even my heart is calling for something beyond this, something new, something that will give me a newer high, I have to depart in search of a new love.”

On the move, Ayesha Ghosh said: “The last 2.5 years have been quite exhilarating, right from stepping into this legendary agency, to setting up the Mumbai office, stabilizing and growing the Delhi office, delivering good results and adapting the unique W+K culture to India. Within a little over half a year of joining, it was satisfying to see the impact of our leadership. This wouldn't have been possible without the passion and hard work of our employees. Every interaction with the W+K crew around the globe has opened my mind to new ways of thinking and new ways of measuring the worth of the work that we do. I hope I get to work with such a smart set of people again."

Ayesha "I've been meaning to pause for a while, dedicate more time to yoga and spend time with family. As for what comes next, I’ll see what the universe throws my way."

W+K India issued a statement saying: “We are grateful to Paddy and Ayesha for their efforts during these past two and a half years as they set up an office in Mumbai and brought in new energy and clients. We wish them all the best as they move on from the agency and take their talents into the world.”

The company also said that Wieden+Kennedy was streamlining its presence in India, winding down operations in Mumbai (through the end of 2024) and scaling back its workforce in the agency’s Delhi office to a workforce of employees who will work with the agency’s global leadership to support critical shared services and global business operations—which will not include advertising services at this time.

Moving forward Delhi employees will report into global leads. “We will be closing the Mumbai office (that they opened, which is where they are located). For the foreseeable future we won’t be taking on client opportunities in Delhi or Mumbai.

A bit more background on why this right now...the agency has been growing and setting up shop in places globally that are aligned with our current needs (clients and future) which at this time means not doubling down on India, instead scaling back and taking a moment to figure out how the Indian market fits into our future. Not totally out of the realm of possibility that we will ramp back up again in the future.”