India’s ‘back offices’ are evolving into leadership hubs for global companies

[Tellugodu]

How will this shape the H1b uncles future and what’s the need of WITCH if US based companies itself opening their own shops back home?? @Sucker @Konebhar6 
 

KEY POINTS

• Global capability centers in India are hiring for leadership positions as firms move critical research & development and intellectual property work to these centers.
• Companies like Vanguard, Maersk and Lowe’s are appointing senior leaders, including global function heads, to be permanently based in India.
• GCCs are now hiring VP-level and global function heads based in India who manage enterprise-wide mandates.

 

The SAP Labs India Pvt. office in Bengaluru, India, on Thursday, on April 27, 2023. Global capability centers have evolved far beyond tech support, but their growth presents challenges for multinationals and Indian cities alike. 

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

This report is from this week’s CNBC’s “Inside India” newsletter, which brings you timely, insightful news and market commentary on the emerging powerhouse. Subscribe here.

The big story

Sipping coffee in a café surrounded by Singapore’s skyline, Anshuman Magazine of real estate services firm CBRE told me that global capability centers (GCCs) accounted for 38% of office space demand in India in the third quarter.

 

“The demand for office space is at a record high in the country,” Magazine, the head of India, South-East Asia and Middle East & Africa markets, said.

He added that the demand for GCCs — which are offshore offices where multinational firms run operations ranging from finance or IT — will continue. Three months ago, his firm made a hire in the U.S. dedicated solely to helping clients establish GCCs in India.

Just this week, U.S. mutual fund giant Vanguard inaugurated its new GCC in Hyderabad. Heading the firm’s operations in India is Venkatesh Natarajan, who relocated to Hyderabad after more than a decade in the U.S. Before Vanguard, Natarajan served in leadership roles at companies like Walmart, Lowe’s Home Improvement and Qurate Retail.

He isn’t alone. Many global companies are now hiring or relocating leadership roles to their GCC offices in India.

Ankur Mittal serves as chief technology officer and managing director of Lowe’s India, while Navneet Kapoor is the executive vice president and chief technology officer at Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk. Both are based in Bengaluru.

 

GCCs, in their earliest form, were remote offices handling finance, procurement and IT services for global firms seeking to cut operational costs. Today, these “back offices” are driving transformation, not merely supporting it.

India’s new corporate vanguard

Increasingly, many of these centers are leading efforts on 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 U.S.-based consultancy that advises companies on GCC strategy.  As firms move their R&D or engineering operations to India, they are looking to hire for leadership roles that come with greater accountability, he added.

Experts say many multinational firms are adopting dual leadership models, where global business unit heads in India co-own strategy and product outcomes with their counterparts at headquarters.

“It’s less about delegation and more about shared accountability,” said Naveen Gattu, head of global growth at GCC consultancy firm Straive. The talent profile within GCCs, he added, is “definitely changing.”

Five years ago, GCC hires were mainly for roles in engineering, analytics, and operations. Now there’s a clear pivot toward senior and strategic roles. 

“GCCs are now hiring VP-level and even global function heads who are permanently based in India or Southeast Asia, managing enterprise-wide mandates,” Gattu said.

According to GCC consultancy ANSR, leadership roles in Bengaluru more than doubled from 21 in 2024 to 44 so far this year. In Hyderabad, the jump was even sharper, rising from 8 leadership roles in 2024 to 42 year to date. Other Indian cities with GCCs are seeing similar trends.

“GCCs have evolved from delivery centers into leadership hubs that shape enterprise strategy,” said Lalit Ahuja, founder and chief executive officer at ANSR, adding that some leaders “who grew within their GCCs have gone on to become global [C-suite roles] while continuing to operate from India.”

India currently hosts over 1,800 GCCs — nearly half of the world’s total — according to a July report published by the Confederation of Indian Industries and Deloitte. Every two weeks, three new GCCs are set up in India, and 60% of existing centers plan to expand.

GCCs today manage key functions that directly influence 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 uniquely suited for that,” said Jha of ANSR.

[jpismahatma]

Atla work avtundhi anna.  

[Tellugodu]

37 minutes ago, jpismahatma said:

Atla work avtundhi anna.  

From what I see, this is what I am expecting to see in coming future: 

- Dependency on WITCH 🧙 will slowly reduced and if witch can’t innovative they will have a slow death. 

- H1b/OPT hiring will be minimal/lot less by MNC’s as these GCC subsidiaries can get quality candidates for less price tag. This includes impact to contractors (mestri model) instead of outsourcing, they opt to cheaper direct hires from India.
 

- GC/shitzen uncles might be motivated to go back home taking leadership/managerial roles in GCC’s which is a win -win situation for both.

- high skilled/talented local hires (India) will have an opportunity to onsite via streamlined L1/ other route. But this number may be limited given the reduced need of onsite resources.
 

- More Analyst/tech operations roles moved to offshore, meaning less opportunities for locals / people with visa dependency will be narrowed with limited opportunities for sponsorship and job opportunities. 

@Sucker @JANASENA @kevinUsa 

[MaddyUsa]

1 hour ago, Tellugodu said:

From what I see, this is what I am expecting to see in coming future: 

- Dependency on WITCH 🧙 will slowly reduced and if witch can’t innovative they will have a slow death. 

- H1b/OPT hiring will be minimal/lot less by MNC’s as these GCC subsidiaries can get quality candidates for less price tag. This includes impact to contractors (mestri model) instead of outsourcing, they opt to cheaper direct hires from India.
 

- GC/shitzen uncles might be motivated to go back home taking leadership/managerial roles in GCC’s which is a win -win situation for both.

- high skilled/talented local hires (India) will have an opportunity to onsite via streamlined L1/ other route. But this number may be limited given the reduced need of onsite resources.
 

- More Analyst/tech operations roles moved to offshore, meaning less opportunities for locals / people with visa dependency will be narrowed with limited opportunities for sponsorship and job opportunities. 

@Sucker @JANASENA @kevinUsa 

They cant move fed / stat projects to India and PHI Data related job's.

[Tellugodu]

20 minutes ago, MaddyUsa said:

They cant move fed / stat projects to India and PHI Data related job's.

PII data jobs - Joke bro, eedi. Tons of jobs managing sensitive employee data /SSN already moved bro. Classic example, ERP support roles.

[Konebhar6]

Corporate greed is making these companies do this for more profitability. 
WITCH will provide consulting services in India. They will survive. 
it’s a good situation for employees in India. They will have better employment opportunities 

[akkum_bakkum]

2 hours ago, Tellugodu said:

From what I see, this is what I am expecting to see in coming future: 

- Dependency on WITCH 🧙 will slowly reduced and if witch can’t innovative they will have a slow death. 

- H1b/OPT hiring will be minimal/lot less by MNC’s as these GCC subsidiaries can get quality candidates for less price tag. This includes impact to contractors (mestri model) instead of outsourcing, they opt to cheaper direct hires from India.
 

- GC/shitzen uncles might be motivated to go back home taking leadership/managerial roles in GCC’s which is a win -win situation for both.

- high skilled/talented local hires (India) will have an opportunity to onsite via streamlined L1/ other route. But this number may be limited given the reduced need of onsite resources.
 

- More Analyst/tech operations roles moved to offshore, meaning less opportunities for locals / people with visa dependency will be narrowed with limited opportunities for sponsorship and job opportunities. 

@Sucker @JANASENA @kevinUsa 

These things r less likely to happen. H1bs hire more h1bs and OPTs making it impossible for gc/citizens.

[summer27]

can't disclose but maa company kooda new GCC starting in hyd..

[Sucker]

TACO gaadu promised them this chit after taking too much money from them inauguration ki ballroom donations ki. Don't hire here on H1B but go full swing mode in offshore offer ichadu unofficially . Not only India Mexico Canada Brazil many countries ki going companies. Ee H1 news lu anni ave ippudu chhsthundhi. Monna Walmart proud ga we are not hiring H1B annadu but in reality he is not hiring anyone. I applied more than 100 Jobs last month kavali ane all rejected means asal jobs lev bokka lev pans happy kosma no hiri G annadu. Only option is state and fed jobs or important on site migatha pilla pithre jobs gone case even Shitizens 

TACO TACO TACO TACO 

[Android_Halwa]

Fact is that WITCH are now operating out of these GCC’s…This is much better than sending people on-sites..

Almost every GCC, more than half of the projects and staff are from WITCH.

[akkum_bakkum]

26 minutes ago, Sucker said:

TACO gaadu promised them this chit after taking too much money from them inauguration ki ballroom donations ki. Don't hire here on H1B but go full swing mode in offshore offer ichadu unofficially . Not only India Mexico Canada Brazil many countries ki going companies. Ee H1 news lu anni ave ippudu chhsthundhi. Monna Walmart proud ga we are not hiring H1B annadu but in reality he is not hiring anyone. I applied more than 100 Jobs last month kavali ane all rejected means asal jobs lev bokka lev pans happy kosma no hiri G annadu. Only option is state and fed jobs or important on site migatha pilla pithre jobs gone case even Shitizens 

TACO TACO TACO TACO 

Anna how abt export control fields like Trading, Finance, Defense. Avaithe povemo ga ekkadiki....some how JPMC has its biggest campus in blr.

[Sucker]

1 minute ago, akkum_bakkum said:

Anna how abt export control fields like Trading, Finance, Defense. Avaithe povemo ga ekkadiki....some how JPMC has its biggest campus in blr.

Avi kuda ship chepistadu Taco with his batch. Max Defense okkate dhikku. 

[Tellugodu]

2 hours ago, akkum_bakkum said:

These things r less likely to happen. H1bs hire more h1bs and OPTs making it impossible for gc/citizens.

Things are changing uncle, AI is the major threat to low skilled h1bs. Seeing this more so in past few months.

[Tellugodu]

1 hour ago, summer27 said:

can't disclose but maa company kooda new GCC starting in hyd..

Entha mandiki spot petabothunaru US lo ? 

[akkum_bakkum]

2 minutes ago, Tellugodu said:

Things are changing uncle, AI is the major threat to low skilled h1bs. Seeing this more so in past few months.

Our corruption is deep rooted now.....management level daati executive level lo vundi.