AMCHAM’s Western Region, in collaboration with Gensler, hosted a GCC leadership roundtable on September 9th in Pune themed ‘Smarter Opex: Strategic Workplace Operations for Evolving GCCs.’ The exclusive session brought together 30 senior leaders from GCCs to discuss strategies for driving operational excellence and reimagining workplace operations in the evolving GCC ecosystem. The program began with opening remarks by Ms. Rakhi Sikka, Regional Director – Western Region, AMCHAM, followed by a keynote address from Mr. Santosh Kulkarni, Chairman – GCC Committee, AMCHAM and Managing Partner & Global Leader – GCC Business Unit, IBM, who emphasized the role of GCCs as engines of innovation and the need to align workplace operations with business objectives. Mr. Shravan Bendapudi, Managing Director, Gensler, delivered a thought-provoking presentation titled ‘Beyond Capex – Designing Smarter Workplaces through Strategic Opex’ showcasing case studies and highlighting how experience design, employee journey mapping, and behavioural insights can optimize workplaces, balance efficiency with employee experience, and ensure scalability for future growth, underscoring the idea that “while capex births a workplace, opex needs to constantly evolve it.” This was followed by an industry panel discussion on ‘Building Future-Ready GCC Workplaces through Operational Excellence’ moderated by Mr. Neeraj Verma, Partner & Cluster Leader – Financial Services, GCC Business Unit, IBM, with panelists Mr. Anand Jha, Vice President & Head of Government Engagement for India and South Asia, Visa, Ms. Alpana Shirgaonkar, Senior Executive Director – Business Process Management, Nexdigm Inc., and Mr. Shravan Bendapudi, Gensler, who explored macro-trends and shared practical approaches on optimizing opex across talent, workplace design, technology, and sustainability. The session concluded with an open-floor discussion where participants exchanged success stories and challenges, reaffirming the need to view operational excellence as a continuous journey rather than a one-time investment.