Indian Women Tech Leaders Drive Global Capability Centres to New Heights

By: WE Staff | Friday, 1 August 2025

• Indian women are increasingly taking leadership roles in Global Capability Centres (GCCs)
• India hosts over 1,800 of the 3,200 GCCs globally, making it a major GCC destination
• Telangana’s WE-Hub is actively promoting women’s participation in GCCs and startups

Despite persistent gender-based discrimination and pay gaps, many women leaders in India are emerging as global figures, particularly by leading Global Capability Centres (GCCs), which serve as operational hubs for multinational companies. These centres, which handle functions such as IT, finance, HR, R&D, and analytics, have seen significant growth in India.

Vestian, a US-based real estate consultant firm, mentions that out of 3,200 GCCs globally, over 1,800 are based in India, with major hubs in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune, and emerging activity in tier-2 cities like Indore, Coimbatore, and Bhubaneswar. Nancy Bhat, MD, Protiviti, says, "While major tech forms like TCS are downsizing, India is quietly emerging as a GCC powerhouse. GCCs in India currently employ around 2 million professionals, 35 per cent of them are women."

A wave of Indian women is now leading these centers, including:

- Lalitha Indrakanti – CEO, Jaguar Land Rover India

- Sirisha Oruganti – CEO & MD, Lloyds Technology Center

- Mamata Madireddy – MD, HSBC Global Services

- Sandhya Devanathan – VP & MD, Meta India

- Preeti Lobana – Head, Google India Operations

- Arundhati Bhattacharya – Chairperson & CEO, Salesforce India

Joining them are Jaya Jagadish (AMD India), Pavitra Mahapatra (Adobe India), Daisy Chittilapalli (Cisco India & SAARC), and Anupreeta Bhattacharya (Merck IT Center), who have carved paths through significant challenges.

Government support initiatives like Telangana’s WE-Hub are further promoting women's participation in both startups and GCC leadership.