MAM
Maxus promotes Lindsay Pattison, replaces Vikram Sakhuja
MUMBAI: In a major development, GroupM has announced the appointment of Lindsay Pattison as global CEO of Maxus.
The announcement was made by GroupM’s global president, Dominic Proctor, who Pattison will report to as she co-locates between London and New York.
Pattison has been leading Maxus in the UK for five years. She has also held the global chief strategy officer role for the last two years, overseeing product, planning, marketing, new business and effectiveness.
Pattison replaces Vikram Sakhuja, who will remain in the group.
“Lindsay has a proven reputation as a leader and is held with enormous regard both internally and by her clients”, said Proctor. “She exemplifies the spirit and ambition of the Maxus culture and we are confident she will take the network into the next stage of growth.”
On the move, Pattison said, “I am thrilled to step up into this role. I love the energy of Maxus and I relish opportunity that comes from our unique and fortunate position as the challenger brand within GroupM. At Maxus, we have a mantra to lean into change. In fact, it’s really to lead change for our clients, navigating the complexity and embracing the possibilities offered in a digitalised, mobile, always-on media landscape. It’s an incredibly exciting time to lead a media agency.”
She will be replaced in the UK chief executive role by Nick Baughan, who moves from the position of managing director. Baughan will continue to report to Pattison.
Baughan joined Maxus in March 2012, having worked at Mindshare for two years as the head of business development. Baughan said, “Over the last five years, Lindsay has led our team brilliantly in the creation of an agency that has become a major force in the industry. I’m hugely proud to have been part of that success and even prouder to have the opportunity to lead our incredible team into the next chapter.”
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.
