Wolters Kluwer celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: Santosh Desai

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and the 2022 theme is Advancing Leaders Through Collaboration. Wolters Kluwer spotlighted the careers and stories of several of our Asian and Pacific Islander leaders whose contributions have inspired our growth story and culture of innovation.

Santosh Desai, Vice President Regulatory Product Development at Wolters Kluwer, plays a dual role for the company. He leads global teams in product development to make meaningful impacts for our customers and for our business. Secondly, Santosh helps fortify our India operations for other business units to leverage it as a premier development center. In just under a decade, the Wolters Kluwer’s Pune Kalyani Nagar center has grown ten-fold.

Santosh values many things about his role, especially blending the company’s global culture within the Indian team’s culture and practices.

Before resiliency and perseverance became corporate mantras, Santosh picked these habits from his father. As someone who was disciplined and focused in his outlook towards life, he hammered a sense of ‘not giving up’ ( छोड़ने का नहीं …. in local Hindi slang) through his actions.

According to Santosh, irrespective of role or level, understanding the business and the marketplace are must-haves. He believes that travelling and experiencing other cultures is the best preparation for global roles.

From a growth perspective, Santosh advises that “career advancement timelines can sometimes be outside of our control so patience is a virtue.”

Santosh looks up to sports personalities who pulled off ‘impossible dreams’, inspired millions, and yet remained grounded. He cites Sachin Tendulkar who sustained his excellence for more than two decades. Considered the ‘God of cricket’, Sachin always maintained a guy-next-door demeanor.