WPP’s Ketan Desai to head Monks India

Monks India, S4 Capital’s operating brand in India, has appointed industry veteran Ketan Desai to lead Monks, effective from February 03, 2025. Desai will lead the organisation, helping it navigate the industry’s complex challenges of speed, scale, and spending. He will report to Kenny Griffiths, Managing Director, APAC at Monks.

"We are excited to have Ketan Desai join us at a pivotal time for Monks in India. His experience in connecting India’s local strengths with global scale will accelerate plans to grow our India business," said Kenny Griffiths, managing director, APAC at Monks.

Desai will be joining Monks at a time when the economics of the marketing industry are experiencing disruptive changes due to advancements in technology. Marketers now need partners that can remove complexity, orchestrating marketing that flows together with tech innovation, mentions a company press release.

Desai has over 20 years of agency experience in leadership roles. Most recently, he served as WPP Grey’s chief operating officer, where he drove scaled marketing solutions for the organisation’s top clients in India. At Monks, he will be expected to accelerate growth by combining the company's AI-driven services with top talent.

Bruno Lambertini, CEO of marketing services at Monks, said, “India is an important market for us, not only driving local growth but also serving as a hub for the region. Ketan’s expertise in delivering scaled marketing solutions for India’s top clients will help marketers simplify complexity, innovate, and overcome their business challenges.”

"Being the founder whose company merged with S4’s Monks, I am invested in its growth. Building the India hub and growing the business here have been my proudest achievements. In 2024, we integrated the organisation with our global vision.” said Robert Godinho, outgoing managing director of Monks India.