Let’s talk about something many whisper about but few post openly.
Company A sets up a shiny new GCC.
They hire a leader from Competitor B.
Within 6 months, 100+ people from B follow their leader into A.
Some call it smart networking.
Others? Talent poaching.
So what is this practice?
-->Strategic hiring?
--> Ethical gray zone?
-->Or a shortcut with long-term cultural consequences?
Let’s call it what it often becomes:
A “lift-and-shift” culture trap.
Instead of building a differentiated org with a unique talent mix, you end up replicating your competitor’s DNA including its problems.
Here’s why this is dangerous:
• Zero culture incubation - You inherit baggage, not just skills
• Groupthink risk - Diversity of thought vanishes when everyone’s trained in the same playbook
• Resentment inside the org - Existing high performers feel bypassed
• Brand dilution - You’re not building. You’re cloning.
--> There’s a better way forward.
India has a growing pool of globally seasoned Returning NRIs, leaders who’ve driven transformation, built products at scale, and led multi-market teams.
They bring:
- Global empathy
- Fresh perspective
- No legacy loyalty conflicts
- A genuine hunger to build in India
Instead of tapping the same 2-3 competitor GCCs, why not tap global talent that’s ready to return, lead, and build something new?
Final thought:
Hiring one leader from a competitor might be smart.
Building your entire culture around that leader’s former team?
That’s not strategy. That’s dependency.
Let’s be intentional in how we build leadership DNA in India’s next-gen GCCs.
What’s your take? Where’s the line between smart hiring and culture copy-paste?
GCCLeadership ReturningNRI EthicalHiring OrgDesign IndiaTech BuildDontCopy HyderabadGCC TalentStrategy LeadershipHiring DigitalTransformation GCCHiringTrends
ANSR EY Accenture in India GCC Pulse™ Achyut Menon "AK" Viswanathan K S Arindam Sen Zinnov Vishnu BG Jayesh Ranjan Rama Devi Lanka Susheel Kumar PageGroup Anshul Lodha FRM
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