MAM
Havas Worldwide APAC names Todd Martin as regional digital director
MUMBAI: Havas Worldwide has appointed Todd Martin as regional digital director for APAC.
In his new role, Martin will lead and drive the growth of digital across Asia Pacific. He will also lead Havas Drive, a digital acceleration, technology and innovation unit based at Havas Worldwide Bangkok.
Based out of Singapore, Todd will report directly to Havas Worldwide Asia Pacific chairman Juan Rocamora, working alongside business development and integration director Southeast Asia Sunny Hermano and CEO Southeast Asia Levent Guenes.
Martin has over 20 years of broad client category digital experience in the US, UK, Japan, China and across Asia Pacific and has been responsible for creating digital strategies and campaigns for a huge number of multinational clients.
He was one of the founders of Amnesia Razorfish in Australia, a digital agency that grew in 10 years to become the largest of its kind in Australia. He worked on brands such as Disney, Microsoft, Qantas, Volkswagen, Merck, Johnnie Walker, and the International Olympic Committee before moving to the USA to work with Razorfish out of their head office in Seattle.
He moved to Singapore in 2013 as regional head of social and digital for Bates CHI & Partners, and worked in Social@Ogilvy across the region before a short stint at Edelman as head of strategy for Asia.
“Todd joins us with a solid track record in the digital space having worked with the some of the top digital agencies and cutting edge brands around the world. His experience across geographies and ability to work with different cultures is a strong plus. Havas has a robust digital offering in Asia Pacific and we have no doubt that Todd is the right person to lead and strengthen our digital operations as we move in the next phase of our growth,” said Rocamora.
Martin added, “I am particularly excited about the Digital Innovation team, Havas Drive. Their blend of creative technical talent is producing solid solutions that work in multiple Asian markets. Havas are showing they have the talent and resources to deliver innovative digital experiences for all clients in the region, they’re walking the walk, not just talking about it.”
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.
