MAM
Grapes appoints Partha Sengupta as creative director
Mumbai: Integrated marketing agency Grapes has announced the appointment of Partha Sengupta as creative director. He will be based out of the agency’s Delhi office and will report to the chief operating officer and strategy head Shradha Agarwal.
In this role, Sengupta will be responsible for the agency’s creative output for brands. He will supervise the creative teams, assist in campaign conceptualisation, and will overlook art and creative teams, respectively.
Prior to this, Sengupta was associated with Wunderman Thompson as a senior creative director for more than three years. He has been instrumental in conceptualising campaigns of several brands.
“We are pleased to welcome Partha to the team. He comes with years of creative experience in the advertising fraternity and is a great asset to us as he holds impeccable expertise in conceptualising and executing creative ideas for brands,” said Shradha Agarwal. “I am confident that he will continue to be an amazing leader, he brings not just the experience but the kind of enthusiasm and passion he entails has inspired us. I am sure he will deliver astonishing work, and I could see an exciting time for the agency.”
In his 13 years of advertising experience, Sengupta has worked on brands like Coke, TATA, Pepsico, Reckitt Benckiser, Nestle, Aircel, Uninor, to name a few. After graduating from the National Institute Of Design, he had worked in agencies like McCann Worldgroup, Rediffusion DY&R, and J Walter & Thompson, Havas worldwide.
“Advertising gives me the scope to solve problems for brands through design, art, and creative strategy. I look forward to working with the teams and assisting them to deliver creative solutions for our clients,” said Partha Sengupta on his new role.
MUMBAI: Mar-tech network Wondrlab Network is in talks to acquire advertising major Madison World, according to media reports, in a move that could reshape India’s agency landscape.
In a statement shared with Social Samosa, Wondrlab Network founder and CEO Saurabh Varma, confirmed that the group is actively evaluating acquisition opportunities but declined to confirm any specific transaction.
“We have consistently stated that Wondrlab is building for scale, and acquisitions remain an important part of that strategy. We are in discussions with multiple companies across capabilities that strengthen our platform-first, full-funnel marketing and technology offering. Any development will be communicated at the appropriate time,” Varma said.
Wondrlab has pursued acquisitions as part of an ambitious plan to buy 26 agencies across three phases. In 2025, it completed its seventh acquisition, underscoring its appetite for inorganic growth.
According to reports, Madison founder Sam Balsara is seeking around Rs 1,000 crore for the agency. If the Wondrlab deal goes through, it would rank as the largest acquisition of an Indian agency by another Indian agency.
Wondrlab was launched in November 2020 by Saurabh Varma, Vandana Varma, and Rakesh Hinduja. Its first acquisition followed swiftly with the December 2020 purchase of Amit Akali’s creative shop, What’s Your Problem.
Since then, the group has steadily expanded its footprint. It acquired influencer marketing firm Opportune and performance marketing agency Neon in 2022. In 2023, it bought Salesforce consultancy and data analytics firm Cymetrix, alongside Poland-based WebTalk, marking its entry into Europe. It later added influencer marketing agency OPA and, last year, took a majority stake in BigStep Technologies, a generative AI and cloud-native software firm.
Madison, meanwhile, has long been a target for global advertising groups. Over the years, it has drawn interest from WPP, Publicis Groupe and Dentsu. In May 2025, Havas was reported to be the frontrunner, with an offer of about Rs 700 crore for a majority stake.
Earlier talks with WPP in 2015, when Madison was valued at roughly Rs 500 crore, collapsed over valuation and equity differences. Discussions with Publicis and Dentsu also failed to yield a deal.
