IT Editor @ The Times of India | Covers IT, Tech and Startups
Trailblazers: Women steering India's GCCs forward India witnessed a rising trend of women taking up leadership roles in global capability centres (GCCs). Many organisations chose to place women at the helm of their GCCs located in India. This move not only expanded the pool of women role models but also introduced new insights to the decision-making processes within these entities. Nearly two dozen women leaders led the charge at GCCs. These included Lalitha Indrakanti, CEO at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Technology & Business Services India; Sirisha Voruganti, CEO & MD, Lloyds Technology Centre India; Uma Ratnam Krishnan, MD of Optum India; Mamatha Madireddy, MD and head of HSBC India Global Service Centres; Kalavathi GV, executive director and head global development centre at Siemens Healthineers; and Anuprita Bhattacharya, head of Merck IT Centre (MITC). "Today, the rise of women leaders and their contributions, specifically in GCCs, are clearly visible. Women are not just participants but increasingly became key decision-makers, driving innovation and inclusive cultures. They brought unique leadership styles that emphasise collaboration and resilience—qualities critical in today’s complex business environment," Indrakanti said. However, biases persisted. Sreema Nallasivam, the CEO of Metro Business Solution Centre (BSC), shared her experiences of facing blatant biases during the early stages of her career. She recalled an incident where a senior woman leader made a remark that highlighted the prejudices she encountered, "You're a woman, you're young. Neither one is a compliment—whether I'm a woman or young should not matter," she said. Nallasivam recounted another instance of bias, where a colleague suggested that her success was attributed to factors unrelated to her skills and qualifications. The colleague implied that "if he also wore a short skirt, he would become a director too," revealing the deeply ingrained gender stereotypes and discrimination prevalent in the workplace. nasscom Zinnov Karthik Padmanabhan Ramkumar Ramamoorthy #leadership #diversity #women
Loved this one Shilpa Phadnis and may this tribe grow!
There's a beautiful sanity about life in a GCC - and women leaders I'm sure make it even better! Lovely curation Shilpa Phadnis!
Great report Shilpa Phadnis. Definitely looking to more such leaders emerging as the GCC footprint grows exponentially in India in the next decade.
Shilpa Phadnis heartening to see this progress. We do have Divya Kiran, GPHR, GTML™ leading Lytx India CoE.
Love this article 👏 Shilpa
Amazing story Shilpa Phadnis thank you for sharing!
Thanks for highlighting this important cause Shilpa Phadnis ! Cheers to all the these trailblazers !
Fantastic Feature Shilpa
I am glad that I have worked with one of them in my earlier engagement 🫡 Having worked in multiple GCCs now, I can say from experience that they are providing employee benefits in tandem with the needs of the modern age. One of the reasons for this is to make their Indian employees feel as blue-blooded as their employees in the US or elsewhere, which is an attempt at standardization. Whatever the reasons, it aids the nurturing of the talent, irrespective of gender, but especially women. However, GCCs have their glass ceilings in India. There aren't still too many global executive roles based here. If there is potential in a talent, they are shipped off to the HQ. Thus, the highest role they can get here is to lead the country. But, then what? The top of the house in GCCs can benefit from the geographic diversity of talent if they are willing to manage the burden of timezones, which is the operating principle at junior levels. But somehow that spirit is lost in the higher echelons and there is an urge for everyone to be in the same timezone, if not the same office.
CEO, ANSR Inc.
2moThis is a good one, Shilpa. The proverbial ‘Tip of the iceberg’ at play here with so, so many more women leaders getting ready to accelerate the India GCC story in the coming years. I would also like to give a bow to over three dozen women leaders at ANSR who have led the charge on successfully setting up nearly 50 GCCs in the recent years! This team will do another 50 GCCs in the next 12-15 months. Now that’s serious women power at work! Hopefully, many of these new GCCs will in turn bring women leaders to further this narrative.