MAM
Pixis names Neel Pandya as CEO for Europe business
Mumbai: Pixis (formerly known as Pyxis One), a provider of contextual codeless AI infrastructure for complete marketing optimisation, on Thursday named Neel Pandya as chief executive officer of its operations in Europe, in addition to his responsibilities of leading the APAC business.
Pandya joined Pixis in its Bengaluru office as the APAC CEO in July 2021. “Under his leadership, Pixis witnessed a 185 per cent growth in revenue in the APAC region, with India independently recording 150 per cent of growth. Over the last seven months, in addition to greatly stabilising customer churn, Pandya has also been instrumental in adding close to 30 new enterprise customers,” said the company in a statement.
“Neel has been doing a remarkable job navigating and growing the business in APAC. In addition to the new volley of customers we’re signing up, we’re also seeing record retention rates with our existing customers,” stated co-founder and global CEO Shubham A Mishra. “Over the last few months, we’ve been noticing steadily increasing traction in Europe, and I believe we have the right person in Neel to lead our Europe business.”
As CEO of Pixis’ Europe business, Pandya’s key responsibilities will include leveraging existing traction in the region to profoundly grow the business and brand.
Weighing in on his appointment, partner at Chiratae Ventures Venkatesh Peddi added, “Neel’s success in the APAC region is testament to his belief in the Pixis vision, as well as his charisma as a leader. His prior experience with the European markets will serve him excellently in executing and staying on top of the expansion roadmap.”
Pandya is a seasoned leader who possesses the global experience and a deep understanding of consumers in APAC and Europe. Prior to Pixis, he exemplified vast professional capabilities at L’Oréal, Vodafone and GroupM. Additionally, he was named one among India’s Top 40 under 40 Most Disruptive Minds, two years consecutively, and has also served as the youngest media head of all times at L’Oreal and Vodafone.
“The past seven months at Pixis have seen my learning curve grow steeply, and I’m beyond honoured at being given the responsibility to grow the Europe business now,” said Neel Pandya. “The continent is currently undergoing an interesting and exciting phase in marketing. In fact, digital advertising spends alone have amounted to over 69.4 billion Euros, making it the second-biggest market after the US. I’m thoroughly looking forward to building strong teams that can support us in growing our European operations.”
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.
