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

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.

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