Wieden+Kennedy hires ex-Taproot Dentsu CEO Ayesha Ghosh as Managing Director for India

Wieden+Kennedy India has appointed Ayesha Ghosh as Managing Director. Ghosh, who will be based in Mumbai, will partner with Santosh “Paddy” Padhi, who was hired as Chief Creative Officer of India in March.

Ghosh (pictured right), who officially starts at W+K today on July 15th, joins the agency after six years at Taproot Dentsu, where she was CEO, based in Mumbai. She joined Taproot in 2016 as general manager, and after driving considerable business growth + profitability, building out the agency’s design offering, shaping the strategic approach to creative work, and structuring the talent base/agency culture, was promoted to CEO in 2021.

Taproot was rated the No. 1 Independent Agency from India at Cannes and ranked amongst the Top 20 Independent Agencies in the World, along with being the first ever Indian agency to win “Creative Agency Of The Year” at Adfest, Spikes Asia “Creative Agency Of The Year” and Integrated Grand Prix winner, Clio “India Agency Of The Year”, and Local “Creative Agency Of The Year”.

Prior to Taproot, Ghosh was part of the leadership team for Contract Advertising for over a decade, helping build and grow the agency’s presence. Here she worked closely with the consulting and design practices, to help expand sources of growth. Previous to Contract Advertising, she held permanent positions in a number of industry shops including Grey Worldwide, Trikaya Grey and PSL McCann Erickson.

Wieden+Kennedy recently began expanding its presence in India, moving into Mumbai with the hire of Padhi and now Ghosh. Previously the agency had been established in Delhi since 2007, over the years building some of India’s most exciting brands including IndiGo Airlines, Royal Enfield, and the government of India.

Some of W+K India’s greatest hits over the years include Nike “Da Da Ding”, an initiative to bring in foreign investment into manufacturing called “Make in India”, 15 years of branding and design for IndiGo Airlines, and more recently, “That’s Why I Airbnb”, for Airbnb, “Light up new beginnings”, for OPPO, and “Gamerkind, Humankind needs you”, for HP Omen. In 2021, W+K Delhi had their best new business year in five years, adding business from ABinBev, Delhivery, Hero Motorcorp, OPPO, PokerBaazi and Visa.

Ghosh said: “It’s astonishing how W+K consistently produces off-the-charts work, across the world. I hope to absorb some of that genius and with the help of a talented team in India and an ace like Paddy, create some genius of our own. With scattered attention, infinite distractions, only work that is honest and primal, will win for brands. And that’s what we mean to do.”

Immediately, Ghosh joins Padhi in building out an expanded leadership, talent and client roster for W+K to create transformative work for local and global brands..

Padhi (Pictured left) said: “I’m glad Ayesha is joining us to be part of this wonderful journey. She is absolutely blunt and honest when it comes to work, which is extremely important these days for our business. Clients too prefer to have conversations that cut to the chase. Ayesha and I have worked closely together for a good number of years at Taproot, we understand and complement each other.

“An organization is known by the kind of people that work for it and both of us will be focusing on putting together a crazy, talented bunch of people, across departments. And we believe that magic will follow.”

Neal Arthur, Global CEO, Wieden+Kennedy, said: “Ayesha’s first day is a great day for W+K. W+K India has big things ahead. Their collective creative ambition, optimism and connection to both local and global culture will no doubt usher in the next wave of transformation for the brands they work with. We are excited and grateful to have Ayesha with us.”

Current W+K Delhi Managing Director Gau Narayanan, who is leaving India and W+K to return home to the UK, will stay on in his current role to help with the transition through August.