GCC Leadership Conclave 2025 Charts AI-Driven Future for India’s Global Capability Centers
Industry leaders from Microsoft, Adobe, Centific, Marvell, Diageo, and others highlight AI, cultural alignment, and strategic innovation as growth catalysts.
Hyderabad, July 30: The 2nd GCC Leadership Conclave, organized by The Leadership Federation in Hyderabad, brought together more than 300 senior leaders from global enterprises, academia, and government to explore the evolving role of India’s Global Capability Centers (GCCs) as engines of innovation, strategic value creation, and economic growth.
The conclave emphasized how GCCs are moving beyond traditional support functions to become hubs of AI-powered transformation, cultural evolution, and long-term strategic impact.
Key Highlights of the Conclave
- AI as a Game-Changer: In a keynote address, Dr Paul Roehrig, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Ascendion, underscored the potential of AI-first GCCs. “India has the opportunity to cement its position as a global hub for innovation and excellence through a modern Global Capability Center network powered by AI,” he said.
Ashwin Rao, Co-Founder & Executive Vice President at Ascendion, echoed this vision, stressing the need to balance talent with AI to lead the next decade of enterprise transformation. - Hyderabad as GCC Epicenter: Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary, Telangana, highlighted Hyderabad’s rapid evolution into a technology and innovation powerhouse. He stressed the importance of improving talent quality and infrastructure, along with collaborative sectoral consortiums.
- Leadership in the AI Era: The session “Leading in the Agentic Era: GCCs as Engines for Change” featured insights from Sapna Grover (Microsoft), Srikanth Kamaraju (Adobe), and Dr Dinesh Chandrashekhar (Centific) on the shift from skill-based hiring to aptitude-driven hiring, the evolution of roles in product management, and building trust between humans and AI agents.
“It’s not about job loss but job evolution,” said Sapna Grover. - Culture and Continuous Learning: Another session, “Human at the Helm: Culture, Curiosity & Capability,” saw leaders from Marvell, Diageo, Delta Capita, and Signant Health emphasize the need for human-centric leadership, cultural agility, and embedding curiosity and inclusion into organizational DNA.
- AI ROI Playbook: Executives from Merck IT, 7-Eleven, Stonex, and PepsiCo discussed redefining ROI metrics in AI-powered environments. Anuprita Bhattacharya of Merck IT noted the GCC boom in India, urging leaders to focus on talent development and rapid scaling for impact.
- Lessons from Frontline Leaders: Insights from Carrier, MetLife, Baxter, and DSM highlighted strategic pitfalls such as cultural misalignment and stressed the importance of leveraging frontline feedback for operational excellence.
The conclave concluded with policy roundtables, exclusive research presentations, and the Leadership Federation’s Leadership Awards, recognizing pioneers in the GCC ecosystem.
About Ascendion
Ascendion, the event’s powering partner, showcased its AI-first engineering and enterprise transformation solutions, including proprietary tools like AAVA, through a dedicated Experience Zone.
About The Leadership Federation
The Leadership Federation is a premier platform driving innovation, industry recognition, and leadership narratives. With a presence across 12 countries, it fosters collaborations across GCCs, emerging sectors, and global leadership ecosystems.
