Chandni Shah on why Kinnect will take on only five new clients this year

Chandni Shah, founder and long-time chief operating officer of Kinnect, has stepped into the role of CEO at the agency as well as at 22feet Tribal Worldwide. But rather than positioning the move as a typical leadership transition, Shah has used the moment to outline a shift in how the agency plans to grow.

In a recent LinkedIn post, Shah said one of her first decisions as CEO would be to move away from what she described as “serial pitching”. Instead, the agency will onboard only five new clients over the next year.

“I’ve always believed that how you grow matters more than how fast you grow,” she wrote, adding that the decision was not an easy one but reflects a desire to prioritise long-term partnerships over volume.

According to Shah, the move is intended to ensure the agency can focus on deeper brand building rather than continuously pursuing new business. “We believe in long-term brand building, and so want to be extremely mindful who we partner with,” she said.

The approach, she noted, is also about demonstrating measurable impact for clients. “We want to be able to showcase real impact and make sure that creativity becomes a business multiplier,” she wrote.

Shah added that once a brand comes onboard, the agency intends to commit fully to the partnership. “And once we bring them onboard, we go all in. All heart.”

Her post also suggests a broader stance on growth. “This isn’t about trading growth. We remain deeply ambitious about what we want to achieve this year. But we’re equally committed to protecting the kind of growth that lasts,” she wrote.

Shah co-founded Kinnect in 2011 along with Rohan Mehta and has led its operations since then, scaling the agency into one of India’s larger digital marketing networks with offices across Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. The agency is now part of the FCB Group under IPG.

Reflecting on the decision to cap new partnerships, Shah wrote that the aim is to prioritise meaningful work over expanding client rosters. “I don’t want to add logos to a slide. I want to genuinely move brands forward.”

Framing the move as a matter of discipline rather than restraint, she concluded: “Sometimes discipline is the most ambitious move you can make.”