NEW DELHI: Demand for senior technology leaders in the country is bucking a slowdown in broader tech hiring, with executive search firms reporting rising mandates from both tech and core sector companies to fill up leadership positions for domestic as well as global roles that are based out of India.
The requirement is often for senior professionals to drive artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. Local and multinational corporations (MNCs), such as financial institutions scaling their global capability centres (GCCs), airlines and aerospace companies, consumer goods firms, retailers, as well as drug makers are increasingly hiring for these roles. Those currently in the market to hire include a Switzerland-based diversified provider of specialty chemicals and a British financial software company, said executives at search firms.
As per experts, many MNCs are considering shifting global tech positions to India, mostly to their GCCs. Ratna Gupta, senior partner, ABC Consultants, said the uptick in tech leadership hiring is strong, especially over the last two–three quarters in comparison to the first half of FY25 when companies were relatively cautious. There is an about 20% increase in mandates at the director, vice-president and higher levels, she said. “Quite a few country heads for GCCs are also coming in.”
Roles in demand include GCC heads/site leaders; chief technology/digital/AI officer; vice president of engineering/data/product; head of AI/ML as well as cybersecurity, cloud and platforms; and transformation and digital factory leaders.
Roles Defined More Broadly
Compensation ranges from about Rs 1 crore to over Rs 5 crore per annum.
TECH HIRING BY NON-TECH FIRMS
Companies in sectors such as automotive, aerospace, mining, and transportation are hiring tech leaders as they become more technology-led, said Prasad Medury, chairman of executive search firm Odgers India.
“We’re seeing a clear uptick in tech leadership hiring over the last 12 months, both in volume and in compensation.”
The shift is also visible in role definitions, where a chief risk officer is expected to own technology and cyber risk as a non-negotiable part of the remit, in addition to financial, operational and strategic risk, said experts.
“Financial services, manufacturing, pharma, retail, and services companies are increasingly hiring technology leaders as core business enablers, as tech leadership today is increasingly seen as revenue- and strategy-critical, not a support function,” said Rituparna Chakraborty, partner and India lead at True Search.
Leadership hiring across industries increased by 10-12% in the past few months from a year earlier, she added. Hiring for digital and tech leadership roles in this period rose more than 70%.
Many of these leaders are working at the India GCCs of multinational corporations. India has over 1,800 of these global tech and engineering hubs, employing close to 2 million professionals, according to a True Search analysis. “More importantly, over 6,500 global leadership roles are already based in India, a number expected to grow significantly over the next few years,” said Chakraborty.
According to Monica Agrawal, chairperson and country head at Sheffield Haworth India, all sectors including BFSI, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and logistics are investing in senior tech leaders to drive AI adoption, data platforms and digital transformation. “AI is at the front and centre of the business strategy now and, therefore, the need for top tier talent,” she added.
Some of the recent tech leadership appointments include Ravin Pangal (IndusInd Bank), Vishal Bhatia (SBI Life Insurance), Pramod Adiddam (Myntra) and Kallol Basu (ITC).