India’s ‘back offices’ are evolving into leadership hubs for global companies
SAP Labs India Pvt. office in Bengaluru, India, on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Global talent hubs have evolved far beyond technical support, but their growth poses challenges for both multinational companies and Indian cities.
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Sipping coffee at a cafe surrounded by the Singapore skyline, real estate services firm CBRE’s Anshuman Magazine told me that global talent centers (GCCs) accounted for 38% of office space demand in India in the third quarter.
“Demand for office space in the country is at a record high,” said Magazine, head of India, Southeast Asia and Middle East and Africa markets.
He added that the demand for GCCs, which are offshore offices where multinational companies carry out operations in finance and IT, will continue. Three months ago, his firm made a hire in the US with the sole purpose of helping clients set up GCC in India.
Just this week, US mutual fund giant Vanguard inaugurated its new GCC in Hyderabad. The head of the company’s operations in India is Venkatesh Natarajan, who has moved to another location. to hyderabad Prior to Vanguard, after spending nearly three decades in the US, Natarajan held leadership roles at companies such as: Walmart, Lowe’s Home Renovation and Kurate Retail.
He is not alone. Many global companies are now relocating or relocating leadership roles to GCC offices in India.
Ankur Mittal serves as chief technology officer and general manager at Lowe’s India, while Navneet Kapoor serves as vice president and chief technology officer at Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk. Both are located in Bengaluru.
In their earliest form, GCCs were remote offices that handled finance, procurement and IT services for global firms looking to reduce operational costs. Today, these “back offices” not only support but drive transformation.
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Many of these centers are increasingly leading efforts in product engineering, AI model development, and automation strategy, co-owning innovation and intellectual property in the process.
“The key difference between traditional back offices and GCCs is ownership,” said Nitesh Bansal, managing director of R Systems, a US-based consultancy that advises companies on GCC strategy. He added that as companies move their R&D or engineering activities to India, they are looking for employees for leadership roles that require more responsibility.
Experts say most multinational companies have adopted dual leadership models, where global business units in India jointly own strategy and product outcomes with their counterparts at headquarters.
“This is about shared responsibility rather than delegation,” said Naveen Gattu, head of global growth at GCC consultancy Straive. He added that the talent profile in the Gulf Cooperation Council is “definitely changing”.
Five years ago, GCC hires were mostly for roles in engineering, analytics and operations. There is now a clear move towards senior and strategic roles.
“GCCs are now hiring VPs and even global function heads who are permanently based in India or Southeast Asia, who lead company-wide mandates,” Gattu said.
Leadership roles in Bengaluru have more than doubled from 21 in 2024 to 44 so far this year, according to GCC consultancy ANSR. In Hyderabad, the jump has been even sharper, rising from 8 leadership positions in 2024 to 42 so far. Similar trends are seen in other Indian cities that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
“GCCs have evolved from distribution centers to leadership centers that shape corporate strategy,” said Lalit Ahuja, founder and chief executive officer of ANSR, adding that “some leaders who grew up within their GCCs have gone global.” [C-suite roles] While continuing to work from India.”
India is currently home to more than 1,800 GCCs (almost half of the world’s total). July report Published by Confederation of Indian Industries and Deloitte. Three new GCCs are being established every two weeks in India, and 60% of existing centers are planning to expand.
GCCs today manage core functions that directly impact decisions, revenue, and customer experience.
“To manage this complexity, companies need leaders who can think globally and execute locally, and India’s talent pool is well-suited for this,” said ANSR’s Ahuja.
— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.
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In the markets
Nifty 50 was poised to post its second consecutive weekly decline this week, falling 1.3%. The index has increased by more than 8 percent this year.
The benchmark 10-year Indian government bond yield continued its decline for four consecutive sessions, hovering near the horizontal line at 6.512.
approaching
November 7: Fintech firm Pine Labs launches IPO
November 11-12: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will attend G7 meeting in Canada
12 November: October CPI inflation data
November 14: October wholesale inflation data
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Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Lalit Ahuja.
