What do you learn when you’ve led three billion-dollar buildouts, across banking, insurance, and global capability centers? 

In this episode, we sit down with Dinesh Deo, a quiet giant of India’s GCC sector, for a no-holds-barred conversation on what it really takes to build, scale, and lead in high-stakes environments. From GE’s legendary talent playbook to the emotional rollercoaster of acquisition, this is a conversation packed with insight, honesty, and the hard-earned truths of leadership. 

We unpack the stories behind the headlines, what it took, what changed, and what never should. 

In this episode: 

• The 3 big leadership lessons from GE, BNY Mellon, and Marsh McLennan 

• What it means to invest in yourself 

• The emotional decision to leave a company when values don’t align with ownership shifts 

• How to reinvent yourself from individual contributor to CEO (and 25 to 7000 employees) 

• Learning to lead through uncertainty and M&A shock 

• What most leaders get wrong about friendship, performance, and fairness 

• The unspoken cost of why rating systems break culture 

• Why “I don’t know” can be a powerful answer 

Plus: 

• What it takes to lead with authenticity during crisis 

• The fine line between being liked and being trusted 

• And how to find purpose in people and stay resilient for 25 years 

Watch or listen now and reflect on the kind of leadership that doesn’t just chase performance but shapes it. 

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Are you coming to India for capability or cost? 

That single question reshapes everything about your GCC strategy. 

In this episode of #TheLeadershipEquationPodcast, we sit down with a guest who’s been at the forefront of building Global Capability Centers for over 25 years, across giants like GE, BNY Mellon and Marsh McLennan. 

We unpack not just the what, but the why behind GCCs, and when they work, when they don’t, and what most leaders miss in the rush to scale. 

What’s inside: 

• What exactly is a GCC? 

• The evolution from “Captives” to Capability Centers 

• GCC vs Outsourcing: When to pick what 

• Why India is more than a cost hub 

• What regulators, tax structures, and transfer pricing mean for your organisation 

• Cultural integration, global career paths, and capability maturity 

• And how to avoid the capacity trap 

This isn’t just another strategy talk, it’s the real talk on how to build global capabilities that last. 

Watch, reflect, and reframe your approach. 

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What does it really take to build a world-class GCC? 

In this episode, we get honest about the tough truths and deeper levers of GCC evolution, from flat organisation dreams to tall structures, from push-and-pull growth cycles to the power of local leadership in global networks. 

In this conversation we discuss: 

• Why organisation design can make or break your GCC 

• Navigating the India vs global grading conundrum 

• The subtle trap of promotions and hierarchy inflation 

• EVP decoded: A three-layer framework (finances, emotion, intellect) 

• Push vs Pull models in scaling: What changes when the global team starts to “pull”? 

• How to move beyond transactional value to real enterprise impact 

• Why India GCCs can be mini-multiverses, and how local leaders must act as the glue 

• Innovation, digital transformation, and why RPA changed the game in 2015 

• The evolving metrics of success: From cost arbitrage to revenue enablement 

Featured Insight: 
“Unless India leaders are at the table, their voice doesn’t travel. Pull only happens when that seat is earned, and used well.” 

Whether you’re leading, scaling, or supporting a GCC, this episode is your mirror and manual. Tune in and reflect on: 
Are you building a cost center or a capability center? 

Watch, reflect, and reframe your approach. 

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Everyone talks about scaling Global Capability Centers (GCCs), but few dare to ask, what truly keeps them from failing?

Or better yet, what separates enduring value creators from glorified cost arbitrage engines? 

In this powerhouse episode, we dive deep into the invisible levers that make or break a GCC, not just at launch, but in the long arc of relevance, value, and evolution. 

In this masterclass, we unpack: 

• Why some GCCs never “fail,” but never succeed either, the trap of limited success 

• What it takes to shift India from being a cost center to a value center in global HQ priorities 

• The anatomy of leverage; How to time and earn the global leadership’s mindshare 

• When outsourcing works, and when it dangerously doesn’t 

• Wage bills, rupee depreciation, and hidden cost myths: A brutally clear-eyed view on GCC economics 

• Build vs Buy: Why promoting internally can outsmart hiring externally (and how to do it right) 

• The hybrid future: How automation, outsourcing, and in-house capabilities will coexist 

• The real “nirvana” for GCCs: Not just integration, but dissolution of identity into the global core 

Plus, provocative questions explored: 

• “What would make a GCC fail to fail?” 

• “Can capability centers be more than back-offices in disguise?” 

• “Should we call them GCCs at all?” 

• “Is growth the only cushion against collapse?” 

 
Whether you’re a global leader, a GCC head, or an ambitious talent in this ecosystem, this is the playbook no one gives you. 

Tune in to sharpen your edge, challenge assumptions, and stay ahead of what’s next. 

Watch or listen now and rethink what it really means to ‘build a capability center’. 

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