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.”