Wieden+Kennedy retreats from India, shuttering its Mumbai office and scaling back Delhi operations

In a significant move, independent agency Wieden+Kennedy is pulling back its operations in India.

The agency is shutting down its Mumbai office and drastically reducing its workforce in Delhi. W+K confirmed to Campaign that any remaining Delhi employees will now work on supporting critical shared services and global business operations, that excludes any advertising or client work. They will report directly to the global leadership team in the US.  

As a result, key leaders and management team, Santosh Padhi, also known as Paddy in the industry who served as the chief creative officer along with India president and managing partner Ayesha Ghosh and head of the Delhi office, Shreekant Srinivasan have resigned. W+K confirms to Campaign that the agency will not rehire to replace the local leadership. Paddy and Ghosh remain with the agency till the end of the calendar year to help with the transition.

Wieden + Kennedy entered India with an office in Delhi in 2007. Ayesha Ghosh and Padhi subsequently opened the Mumbai office in 2022. According to Campaign’s Agency Report Card, W+K added 21 to the headcount in India last year to sustain client demands and high turnover rates (nearly 46%). It also reduced its revenue drop to a single digit compared to 2022. 

In a statement issued to Campaign Asia, a spokesperson at the agency said, “We want to extend our gratitude to Paddy, Ayesha, and all the employees in Mumbai and Delhi. They have been great colleagues and friends. We deeply appreciate the hard work and dedication from the departing staff, it is never easy to say goodbye to employees and as we scale back our workforce, we are working with the departing employees to make sure their transition is as smooth as possible.”

Padhi joined W+K in early 2022, followed by Ghosh, his former colleague from Taproot.

Together, they launched W+K in Mumbai and managed creative and business operations across Mumbai and Delhi. Under their leadership, the agency secured new business and created campaigns for brands such as Vida from Hero Motocorp, Jindal’s Steel of Oman, Jockey’s Freedom or Nothing, G Shock’s Rise Above the Shocks, Hero Cycles’ Cycle Hero Hai, Clove Dental’s Whistle, and Brownkind skincare.

Campaign spoke to Ghosh on her plans going forward and she said, “It’s too early to have made any plans. I can say I will be taking a break for the moment."

She added, “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”

Meanwhile Padhi added: “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."

W+K assured Campaign that this move will not impact its operations elsewhere in Asia, where it maintains a presence in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai. The agency explained that this decision aligns with its current global strategy, focusing on markets that meet its evolving needs and client demands.

While scaling back in India, the agency reiterated that it is taking time to reassess how the Indian market fits into its future plans. The possibility of ramping up operations in India again in the future is not ruled out.