What it takes to lead a Global Capability Centre in India.
India’s GCCs are growing faster than the supply of leaders ready to run them. Here is what one study of the top 50 GCCs found about the people at the top.
Leadership only · ₹50 L+The scale of India’s GCCs.
From Zinnov, “What It Takes to Be a GCC Head in India” (April 2025; leaders of the top 50 GCCs in India).
A typical GCC head, in the study’s numbers.
About 30 years’ experience
The study’s average total experience for a GCC head, with about 23 of those years inside the GCC ecosystem.
About 5 years one level down
The average time spent at the level just below the head before taking the top job.
Two in three hold a Master’s
Most of those Master’s degrees are MBAs; most heads started with a science or engineering degree.
People and strategy first
The skills heads emphasised most: building and leading people, and long-term strategic vision, with stakeholder management close behind.
What the study found under-emphasised.
- Emotional intelligence, crisis management and geopolitical awareness were rated lower than the study suggests the role now needs.
- Half of the centre heads rated global exposure as very important; about a third say they gained it by working closely with headquarters and global teams.
- The study projects a potential shortfall of about 23,000 leaders for global roles by 2030.
Four moves the data points to.
- 1Hold a global roleA remit that spans regions, with a stakeholder at headquarters, is what a large share of GCC leadership now means.
- 2Own something end to endThe level below the head is where most heads spent years. Make that time count with a mandate you run end to end.
- 3Build the HQ relationshipHeads describe working with headquarters and global teams as their main route to global exposure.
- 4Show the missing skillsEvidence of crisis leadership and judgement under uncertainty stands out because the study found it under-emphasised.
Where these numbers come from.
Figures are quoted as published. Survey averages describe the organisations surveyed, not any one employer or person.
- Zinnov, “What It Takes to Be a GCC Head in India”, April 2025 (PDF): sample of the top 50 GCCs in India; GCC count, headcount, global-role share, 2030 projections, experience, education and skills findings.
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