Global Capability Centres have spent years proving they can deliver work at scale. Today, many are being asked to do something very different: shape products, influence strategy and develop leaders who can operate across markets and functions.
According to Renu Shekhawat, Director & Head of Human Resources, APAC at Pitney Bowes, this shift is no longer incremental. It is structural.
In a conversation with People Matters, Shekhawat outlined why leadership pipelines have become a defining challenge for GCCs, how employee expectations are changing, and what will separate future-ready centres from those that remain focused on execution.
The GCC story is no longer about cost efficiency
For years, GCCs were largely associated with operational excellence and talent scale. Shekhawat believes that narrative has changed fundamentally.
"The GCC story has fundamentally changed, and it is not a gradual shift, rather it’s structural one."
She says centres that were initially built around cost efficiency are increasingly becoming places where business decisions are made, products are developed end-to-end and enterprise strategies are shaped.
According to Shekhawat, four shifts are driving this transformation:
- Enterprises are investing in local expertise that creates business value and proprietary capabilities
- Teams are moving from supporting features to owning products from inception to delivery
- Work is evolving from routine execution to complex problem-solving linked directly to revenue and growth
- Decision-making authority is moving closer to GCC leadership teams
"Leadership has followed the work. Decision-making authority now sits with local executives who directly shape enterprise decision."
The implication is clear. As ownership expands, the expectations placed on talent and leaders expand with it.
Employees want influence, not just roles
The evolution of GCCs is also changing what employees expect from their careers.
Shekhawat notes that professionals are increasingly seeking opportunities that offer visibility, influence and long-term growth rather than narrowly defined responsibilities.
"There is a growing expectation for opportunities that offer leadership exposure, participation in strategic projects, and the ability to work closely with global stakeholders and decision-makers."
Career progression is no longer viewed through the lens of hierarchy alone.
Employees increasingly value:
- Clear career pathways
- Internal mobility opportunities
- Cross-functional experiences
- Exposure to global business environments
- Greater ownership and learning opportunities
According to Shekhawat, these factors are becoming increasingly important drivers of both engagement and retention.
The leadership challenge hiding inside GCC growth
While GCCs continue to expand their enterprise mandates, leadership capability is not always growing at the same pace.
Shekhawat identifies leadership depth as one of the most significant challenges facing fast-scaling centres.
"One of the biggest challenges organisations face in fast-scaling GCC environments is developing leadership depth quickly enough to match business expansion."
As GCCs assume broader responsibilities, organisations need leaders capable of managing complexity, driving transformation and operating across functions and geographies.
Building those capabilities requires deliberate effort.
She highlights several areas that require sustained focus:
- Identifying high-potential talent early
- Providing meaningful development opportunities
- Creating environments that encourage accountability
- Strengthening decision-making capabilities
- Balancing technical expertise with communication, adaptability and strategic thinking
Leadership development, in other words, cannot be an afterthought.
Mobility, exposure and global assignments are not optional
If leadership pipelines are the goal, Shekhawat believes organisations need to think differently about talent development.
"These three elements aren’t just nice-to-have, they are how we build leaders."
She points to internal mobility, cross-functional exposure and global assignments as critical components of leadership readiness.
Internal mobility helps employees develop a broader understanding of the business.
"When people move across units early, they arrive at leadership roles with institutional depth that’s genuinely hard to teach any other way."
Cross-functional experiences help individuals move beyond narrow expertise.
"An engineer who has spent time in product strategy or operations thinks differently. They solve problems at the business level, not just the technical one."
Global assignments add another layer.
"Working at headquarter or in international markets builds cross-cultural confidence and a comfort with ambiguity that leading a global team genuinely demands."
For Shekhawat, these experiences form the foundation of enterprise leadership capability.
"Together, these aren’t just development tools, they are deliberate architecture behind building GCC talent that’s ready to lead at the enterprise level."
AI is reshaping what organisations expect from leaders
Artificial intelligence is adding a new dimension to the leadership conversation.
According to Shekhawat, organisations are no longer hiring simply to increase capacity.
"GCCs are no longer hiring for scale. They are hiring for domain and technical depth, sound judgment, and the ability to connect technical work to real business outcomes."
The skills bar is also rising.
She argues that employees need to understand data well enough to make decisions from it rather than simply process information. Across functions such as finance, HR and procurement, business fluency is becoming a baseline expectation.
Leadership expectations are shifting as well.
"India-based leaders aren’t running local operation anymore. They hold global accountability for technology strategy and product direction."
She adds that leadership today involves less focus on managing headcount and greater emphasis on creating environments where people and technology can work effectively together.
It also requires stronger judgement around ethical, operational and security-related risks at a global level.
Learning cultures will define the next generation of GCCs
For Shekhawat, leadership readiness is strengthened through a combination of mentorship, reverse mentoring and continuous learning.
Traditional mentorship helps emerging leaders build confidence, strategic thinking and decision-making capabilities. Reverse mentoring enables senior leaders to stay connected with changing workforce expectations and emerging technologies.
Continuous learning plays an equally important role by helping employees remain adaptable in a rapidly evolving environment.
Together, these approaches support stronger collaboration across generations while helping organisations develop leaders who can navigate complexity and change.
The difference between talent centres and leadership centres
Looking ahead, Shekhawat believes the distinction between future-ready GCCs and execution-focused centres will become increasingly clear.
"The GCCs that successfully produce future leaders will be those that invest in creating strong learning cultures, leadership development frameworks, and opportunities for enterprise-wide exposure."
Future-ready centres, she says, will empower employees to think strategically, collaborate globally and contribute directly to innovation and transformation.
What will ultimately set them apart is not scale or size.
"What will truly distinguish these GCCs is their ability to create environments where employees are encouraged to take ownership, experiment, and continuously evolve."
For organisations building the next generation of GCCs, the challenge is no longer simply attracting talent. It is creating the conditions where talent can become leadership.
Looking ahead, Shekhawat believes the distinction between future-ready GCCs and execution-focused centres will become increasingly clear.
"The GCCs that successfully produce future leaders will be those that invest in creating strong learning cultures, leadership development frameworks, and opportunities for enterprise-wide exposure."
Future-ready centres, she says, will empower employees to think strategically, collaborate globally and contribute directly to innovation and transformation.
What will ultimately set them apart is not scale or size.
"What will truly distinguish these GCCs is their ability to create environments where employees are encouraged to take ownership, experiment, and continuously evolve."
For organisations building the next generation of GCCs, the challenge is no longer simply attracting talent. It is creating the conditions where talent can become leadership.