Lindsay Pattison steps into Vikram Sakhuja's shoes

Vikram Sakhuja, global chief executive officer of Maxus, has been replaced by Lindsay Pattison.

Vikram Sakhuja, global chief executive officer of Maxus, has been replaced by Lindsay Pattison.

Till now, Pattison was the UK chief executive and global chief strategy officer of Maxus.

Based in New York, in her new role, she will report to Dominic Proctor, the global president of Group M.

On Twitter, Maxus Global said about the elevation, "We are thrilled to announce that Lindsay Pattison has been promoted to be our new Global CEO. Exciting times ahead."

Recall that Sakhuja, who used to work as CEO of GroupM India and South Asia, was promoted to the position of global CEO, Maxus, in August 2012. It was a big piece of news back then, because it marked the very first time an Indian was selected to head the global operations of a networked media agency, while continuing to be based in India.

As regards the current piece of news, the agency is keeping quiet about Sakhuja's new role, but clarifies that he will remain within the group.

While announcing the promotion of Pattison, Proctor said, "Lindsay has a proven reputation as a leader and is held with enormous regard both internally and by her clients. 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."

"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," Pattison says.

Nick Baughan, the managing director of Maxus UK, has been elevated; he will now work as CEO of Maxus UK, a position Pattison held so far.

Pattison had joined Maxus in 2009.

Note that she was the first CEO of Maxus UK, and is credited with doubling the agency's profits in less than a year.