AMCHAM organized the fifth edition of the GCC Summit on March 21st, 2025 in New Delhi themed ‘Innovating for Tomorrow: Strategies for Resilience and Growth.’ Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM gave the welcome remarks covering the present GCC landscape in India, contribution of U.S. GCCs to the ecosystem and future trends.  The opening remarks were given by Mr. Salil Gupte, Chairman, AMCHAM and President, Boeing India and South Asia who spoke about the critical juncture that GCCs in India are at today. He reiterated upon the dire need to innovate and re-invent. Mr. Santosh Kulkarni, Chairman – GCC Committee, AMCHAM and Managing Partner & Global Leader – Global Capability Centers BU, IBM set the scene for the summit. He emphasized the need to educate stakeholders about the GCC ecosystem and spoke about the transformation of GCCs to GTCs (global transformation centers). In the keynote address, Mr. Sunil Barthwal, IAS, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India recognized and lauded U.S. GCCs in India on their instrumental role in bringing innovation into the ecosystem which aids industry success. He also commended the services sector as a steady contributor to the nation’s growth story with GCCs forming an integral part of it. He agreed on industry concerns of transfer pricing, issue of safe harbours, greater ease of doing business, SEZ/DTA issues, over congestion in tier I cities and incentivising tier II/tier III cities, developing urban infrastructure and regulatory ease, and assured the government’s support in minimizing these concerns. He considered having a focussed discussion group comprising of U.S. GCCs leaders that would help develop a roadmap for existing and future GCCs. Ms. Shalini Pillay, India Leader – Global Capability Centers, KPMG in India gave the concluding remarks.

The industry keynote address on ‘GCCs as Strategic Growth Engines’ was given by Ms. Shalini Pillay, India Leader – Global Capability Centers, KPMG in India where she reiterated on how industry is witnessing technology as the underpinning enabler continuing to drive the next phase of evolution of the GCC model. It was followed by the first panel discussion on ‘GCCs as Strategic Growth Engines’ with Mr. Ankit S. Chaudhury, India CFO, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, Mr. Neeraj Verma, Partner & Cluster Leader – Financial Services, GCC (India/South Asia), IBM Consulting and Ms. Shalini Pillay, India Leader – Global Capability Centers, KPMG in India as the moderator. The panel shared their respective organizational enablers in getting their GCCs positioned as strategic growth engines, adoption of Gen AI, supply chain disruptions, global networks, risk landscape, increasing focus on enhancing the ultimate customer experience and ESG.

The second panel on ‘Future-Proofing GCCs’ featured Mr. Nanda K. Lakkaraju, Managing Director, Carrier Technologies India Limited, Mr. Jaydeep Goyal, Vice President, Fiserv, Mr. Sumit Kumar, Chief Delivery Officer, Thryve Digital and Mr. Atul Gupta, Partner, and Head – Digital Trust Services, KPMG in India as the moderator. The panel touched upon the evolution of GCCs and the expected future over the next five years. They deep dived into understanding future-proofing GCCs by way of accelerating digital transformation, building deep capabilities and driving innovation, enhancing resilience and operational agility and future-proofing for sustained growth. The panel also discussed the support required from government, academia, and other stakeholders.

The third panel discussion, ‘The Evolving Operating Model – Partnering into the Future,’ covered ecosystem partnerships and their role in driving business transformation, factors driving the need to be more agile and flexible, role of collaboration between GCCs and external partners in achieving operational excellence, challenges and steps to foster a culture of partnerships. Mr. Ujjwal Jyoti, Managing Director, Accenture and Ms. Simi Thapar, Chief Country Officer & Executive Director, India, CSI Leasing Inc. were the panelists with Mr. Jaspreet Singh, Partner & GCC Industry Leader, Grant Thornton Bharat as the moderator.

Mr. S. Krishnan, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information, Technology, Government of India gave the second keynote address at the summit. In his address, he emphasized that GCCs were a ‘win-win’ situation for all stakeholders. He cited the Ford GCC story and how it was instrumental in getting Ford back to India and now employs more skilled personnel with higher remunerations. He shared an overview of the current GCC landscape in India – estimated 1,800 GCCs across India (~800 in Bangalore, 300+ in Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad). GCCs have positively changed the economic landscape of these cities especially by creating aspirational job opportunities for India’s youth. The multi-fold benefits include cost effectiveness, higher value chain jobs and human resource development. He assured the government’s support to industry and asked them to present specific asks. He shared that the government was setting up of a committee to oversee GCC framework to aid the thriving GCC ecosystem in India.

The next panel ‘Learning from One Another’ covered the GCC journey from pioneers to new entrants. The panel shared lessons and experiences in growth and innovation. Mr. Sumit Gupta, Co-Chairman – GCC Committee, AMCHAM and VP, Digital Technology, Cargill, Mr. Paras Parikh, Interim Country Head – India, ACA Group, Mr. Jaideep Agarwal, India Global Business Services (GBS) Leader, Warner Bros. Discovery and Ms. Priti Parekh, Partner – Global Capability Centres, IBM Consulting as the moderator, brainstormed on finding the perfect recipe in building a thriving GCC. They shared key success factors in scaling a GCC, challenges faces, strategies to overcome them and innovations driving long term value and resilience.

The 5^th session ‘Nano, Niche and Young GCCs: Critical Factors for Success and Growth’ explored the journey of young GCCs – their journey, hurdles, strategies, and future roadmap. The panel covered the GCC lifecycle, GCC models, economic considerations, talent availability, etc.  The panel included Ms. Nisha Awasthi, Managing Director, KKR, Mr. Ananth Rao Rudravaram, VP of Technology and Managing Director, SMC Squared, Mr. Jaideep Agarwal, India Global Business Services (GBS) Leader, Warner Bros. Discovery and Ms. Shalini Pillay, India Leader – Global Capability Centers, KPMG in India as the moderator.

The penultimate session on ‘Value Realization from Gen AI: A Reality Check’ featured experts Mr. Pranav Duggal, Partner & Executive Director – GCC Business Unit, IBM Consulting, Mr. Mujiruddin Shaikh, CTO (Accelerate), Thoughtworks India-Middle East and Mr. Deepak Malhotra, Partner, EY as the moderator. Speakers discussed pertinent questions around Gen AI and its hype, automation or augmentation, impact on workforce, the tripartite influence of leadership, tech and culture, measuring ROI, ethics and compliance and future predictions around Gen AI.

In the last session ‘Measuring the Impact and Value of Innovation,’ Mr. Utpal Ashar, Associate Partner & NA GTM Leader, GCCs, IBM Consulting, Ms. Nisha Awasthi, Managing Director, KKR and Mr. Rajesh Kosuri, Country Head, Technogen India deliberated on defining and driving innovation, most effective KPIs to track success of innovations, sponsorships, challenges in scaling innovation and assessing GCCs as they move from incremental to transformative innovation. Mr. Vishal Dubey, Partner, KPMG in India moderated the session.

The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM. More than 130 members attended. The event was supported by KPMG, Carrier, IBM, Thoughtworks, Fiserv, Cargill, Guardian and CSI Leasing.