MAM
Havas Worldwide appoints Matt Weiss as Global CMO
MUMBAI: Havas Worldwide (formely known as Euro RSCG Worldwide) has appointed Matt Weiss as global chief marketing officer.
In his new role, Weiss will work closely with key leaders across the Havas Worldwide network to drive growth for the agency and its clients.
Based in the New York office, Weiss will officially begin his new role in January 2013.
Havas CEO David Jones said, “Matt joins our team at an exciting time for Havas Worldwide. We‘re coming off one of our strongest ever years for new business. The rebranding has underscored our unique integrated structure and digital-at-the-core model while acting as a real growth accelerator.”
“Matt‘s experience working with some of the world‘s largest and most innovative brands will be a huge asset in driving our clients‘ businesses forward and with it our own growth,” Jones added.
Weiss joins the network three months after Havas renamed its 316 offices (including India) to Havas Worldwide. According to the agency, in the last two months the agency has won Louis Vuitton globally, Berluti globally, Diet Coke in Europe, the European Central Bank, and La Poste together with the global Unilever data business.
Weiss replaces Naomi Troni, who was recently appointed CEO, Havas Worldwide Southeast Asia.
Weiss said, “I was drawn to the scope and scale of Havas Worldwide and their unique position as being one of the most agile, collaborative, and digitally innovative of all the global networks. Equally intriguing is their unique view of the changing marketing landscape – a deep understanding of how social media and corporate responsibility are intrinsically linked to drive business results for clients.”
Prior to joining Havas Worldwide, Weiss has also worked with companies like McCann Worldgroup and kbs+.
Brands
Reserve Bank of India cancels Paytm Payments Bank licence
Central bank cites compliance failures; curbs tighten as wind-up looms
MUMBAI: India’s banking watchdog delivered its sharpest blow yet to Paytm Payments Bank, cancelling its licence and effectively ending its ability to operate as a bank under the law.
The Reserve Bank of India said the entity can no longer conduct banking business under the Banking Regulation Act, citing concerns that its affairs were not being run in the interest of depositors or the public and that it had failed to meet licence conditions.
The move escalates a crackdown that has been building for months. The bank had already been barred from onboarding new customers since March 11, 2022, and later faced restrictions on deposits, credit and wallet top-ups. In January 2024, the central bank ordered it to stop accepting fresh deposits, pointing to persistent non-compliance, including lapses in customer due diligence, use of funds and technology systems.
Operationally, the bank is now on a tight leash. It may process withdrawals of existing deposits and facilitate loan referrals through banking correspondents, but it cannot take fresh deposits.
The central bank said it would apply to the high court to wind up the bank.
Paytm sought to ringfence the fallout. In a regulatory filing, it said the licence cancellation applies to Paytm Payments Bank Limited, a separate entity, and should not be attributed to One 97 Communications. It added that there is no exposure or material business arrangement with the bank and that it operates independently, without Paytm’s board or management involvement.
“As informed earlier, Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) and its services, which have been operating without interruption, will continue to operate uninterrupted. These include the Paytm app, Paytm UPI, Paytm Gold and all other services offered by its subsidiaries and associated companies,” the company said.
The distinction may reassure users of the app ecosystem, but the regulator’s verdict is unequivocal. After years of warnings, caps and curbs, the payments bank experiment at Paytm is being shut down—decisively, and with little room left to manoeuvre.
