India's Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are undergoing a major leadership shift, with a 30% surge in global roles now led from India and returning NRIs taking centre stage. In a span of just three years, senior positions operated out of Indian GCCs have grown to over 6,500 as of 2024 an astonishing leap from just 115 roles in 2015. The transformation marks a pivotal turn in the maturing Indian enterprise ecosystem.
According to research by Zinnov, long-term expat leadership has fallen to below 10% of senior positions, now largely limited to sectors such as finance and telecom that require direct headquarters oversight. In contrast, India is now seeing a wave of experienced Non-Resident Indian (NRI) professionals returning to assume strategic leadership in energy, retail, and banking GCCs.
Experts highlight that these professionals bring dual advantages deep enterprise familiarity and nuanced knowledge of local market dynamics. Their ability to lead innovation, manage global stakeholders, and enable cross-functional execution is making them the preferred choice for new centre builds and expansions.
“In recent years, we’ve seen NRIs return in large numbers, particularly during scaling phases,” said Arindam Sen of EY India. “Expat expertise is still valued, but more as short-term advisory stints, not for sustained leadership.” While the rise in NRI leadership reflects India’s growing capabilities, it has also exposed systemic gaps in how GCCs structure and trust senior talent. Some returnees report stagnation in hiring and a lack of clarity in leadership design, despite their international experience.
“GCCs don’t have a talent problem they have a trust problem,” says Snehal Kulkarni, a returning NRI with global AI and infrastructure leadership experience. According to him, the hesitation to empower returning leaders has led to mid-level attrition and missed innovation opportunities.
Kulkarni urges GCCs to reimagine leadership design—not just by filling roles but by giving returnees early influence in strategic planning. “The ones leading GCCs now aren’t just flying in. They’re moving back, staying in, and taking charge,” he noted.
As GCCs evolve into full-fledged product and innovation hubs, experts stress the importance of localising leadership with P&L ownership and decision-making autonomy. With India poised to house over 1,800 GCCs employing more than 21 lakh professionals by the end of 2025, the leadership composition is fast becoming a critical enabler of long-term success. By investing in homegrown leadership and rethinking trust as a core design principle, Indian GCCs are no longer following global trends they’re setting them.
