GCC WORKPLACE AWARDS 2025
June 2025 | Bangalore | Official Announcement Coming Soon
Join us at India’s first GCC Workplace Awards to celebrate the best workplaces fostering a positive, inclusive, and engaging work culture. More than awards, it’s a grand event setting benchmarks for others to follow.
Bringing together visionaries and changemakers, the grand event facilitates invaluable discussions on the future of work, sharing best practices and brainstorming ways to cultivate workplaces that inspire innovation, nurture talent, and drive organizational growth.
Become the part of celebrating those who are transforming workplaces into enriching spaces for all.
Transforming Workplace Journey
Every organisation’s journey is a story of vision, innovation, and resilience. Whether you are an agile startup or a global enterprise, navigating the complexities of hiring, retaining, and motivating talent is a challenge and an opportunity. At the Workplace Awards, we celebrate and amplify these unique journeys, empowering organisations to evolve into industry benchmarks for excellence.
We believe that Recognition, Connection, and Association are the three foundational principles driving workplace journeys. These pillars are the cornerstones of building vibrant, resilient organisations that attract top talent, inspire continuous growth, and foster stronger partnerships.
Through the Workplace Awards, we don’t just celebrate achievements—we help you:
By recognising excellence and enabling meaningful connections, the Workplace Awards turn every organisation’s vision into reality, empowering them to shape the future of work. Let us partner with you to transform your journey into an inspiring and incredible workplace.
Novo Nordisk | Corporate Vice President & Managing Director
Industry leader. Visionary thinker. John Dawber, Corporate vice president and MD for Global Business Services at Novo Nordisk, is renowned for creating inclusive and thriving workplaces. He's also an avid supporter of ground-breaking science and innovation, with an outstanding track record in the pharma industry in affiliate, global, regional and general management roles. John is a natural leader with more than 20 years of sales, marketing, market access, pricing, public affairs, and leadership experience in five geographies, including Europe, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and India.
7-Eleven | Vice President & Country Leader
Jennifer joined 7-Eleven in 2018 as Vice President of
Internal Audit and, most recently was Vice President,
Chief Accounting Officer & Controller preceding being
named Vice President & Country Leader, Global Solution
Center – India in October 2021.
Prior to 7-Eleven, she held the Chief Audit Executive role
at three other Fortune 500 companies and has diversified
her experience with roles including Divisional CFO for
Sam’s Club (West Division); Regional General Manager-
Store Operations for Sam’s Club: and Divisional Vice
President of Retail Operations at Office Depot.
Jennifer obtained her Bachelor of Business
Administration degree in Accounting from Western
Michigan University and is a CPA.
Sanofi | Global Services Head, Hyderabad Hub
Mrinal brings 22 years of experience in setting up, scaling, and managing GBS/GCC organizations. She has worked with renowned companies like GE Capital, HSBC, JP Morgan, Jardine Lloyd Thompson, Novartis, and Sanofi. Throughout her career, she has led multiple transformation programs and transitioned work for over 5000 headcounts. Mrinal holds an MBA from IMT and a master’s degree in commerce. She is currently heading the Sanofi Hyderabad Hub (GCC).
G2 | Country Head, India
Shreyans is a business leader with proven expertise in building new capabilities and delivering solutions that have measurable business outcomes. In the last two decades, he defined the culture for technology teams and increased accountability of work, created efficiencies in operations & support in a global shared services environment.
With a diverse career in Technology Service Delivery, Operations and Program Management, he contributed positively to an organizations bottom line across IT, Financial Services and Retail sector. he have established, led and transformed teams by using forward thinking talent management principles. Adept at working in a multi-cultural environment & actively managing stakeholder relations.
BlackHawk | Director of Product Management & India Site Leader
With over 18 years of experience, Romit is a seasoned leader in enterprise product management. Having worked with industry giants like Blackhawk Network, Fiserv, Syndigo, and Sears Holdings, he brings a wealth of expertise to the table. Currently serving as the Director of Product Management at Blackhawk Network, Romit leads several key product areas and serves as the Site Leader for Blackhawk India, overseeing a thriving team of 500 professionals across Bangalore and Calicut. With a background in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, Romit is dedicated to delivering innovative, user-centric experiences that drive customer engagement and satisfaction.
LinkedIn | India Head for Public Sector
Saba lead’s the Public Sector Vertical for LTS LinkedIn India. In her current role, she empowers Government & PSU’s across India with insights into labour market to build a diverse and inclusive work environment. She is invested in building a society where people have equal access to learning and connect with economic opportunity. She works towards bridging the skills gap of employees so that they can contribute efficiently towards India’s booming economy, in alignment with the vision of the Indian govt to build capacity for a 5 trillion economy by FY25.
She collaborates with India's leading staffing firms to assist them in recruiting top talent and utilizing LinkedIn’s network to find new business prospects.
In addition to working with PSU’s and Staffing companies, Saba work’s closely with the education sector towards empowering students and universities with insights into hiring trends, latest skills and relevant learning courses thus helping them boost employability. LinkedIn’s vision is to “Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce”, and we are invested in making this vision a reality in India.
Saba believes that progress needs to be inclusive and invests her time in helping build a diverse, inclusive work environment and society where everyone has equal access to opportunity. She has led LinkedIn’s India “Women at LinkedIn“, an employee’s resource group in past and now leads the DIBs (Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging) initiative for LinkedIn India.
ZoomInfo | VP & GM, India
Venkateshan is presently VP and GM, India at ZoomInfo India Pvt Ltd. He leads the ZoomInfo India GCC, which has a headcount of around 500 employees in India, with their office in Chennai and expanding to Bangalore soon. ZoomInfo India has employees in various teams from R&D, CX, GTM, Finance, HR, and various Data teams.
ZoomInfo is a publicly traded (NY: ZI) $1.2 Bn revenue company specializing in GTM solutions with the best company and personal data in the industry, with large offices in various US locations and Israel. Before ZoomInfo, Venkateshan was leading the platform team globally for BlueYonder, developing data platform, mobility, extensibility solutions on Microsoft Azure for supply chain products. Venky has also led the Development center in Taipei, Taiwan for Zebra technologies and worked in various countries like US, Netherlands, Belgium. Venkateshan is passionate about technology, forming and growing teams, hiring and retaining top talent, building brand value for global companies, developing innovative solutions from India, and bringing collaborative value from multiple disciplinary teams under one roof.
He believes India GCCs are at the crux of breaking free from previous paradigms of being a cost center or backend office heaven to all companies looking at thought leadership in India to lead strategic initiatives and bring in solutions for the worldwide market. Venkateshan has a B.E in Computer Science from NIT Trichy and M.S from Polytechnic University, NYU.
EX- Northern Trust Corporation | SVP-Talent Management & Development
Meenalochani is a trailblazer in the corporate mentoring landscape in India and has served as a Board Member of the International Mentoring Association. She has provided thought leadership and internal consulting expertise to esteemed organizations such as Northern Trust, Sutherland, Mahindra Group, Cummins, and Mindtree.
Renowned for her advocacy of mindfulness in all aspects of life, Meenalochani has been recognized for her exceptional leadership by several prestigious entities, including Femina, White Page International, Collabera, ISTD, World HRD, International Women Leadership Federation, and eWIT.
Standard Chartered | VP - AI Strategy & Business Planning
Vidhya Veeraraghavan has a distinguished career as an AI strategist and connector, leveraging lean, Six Sigma, Agile, and Human-Centered Design practices to craft impactful AI solutions. Currently serving as VP and Artificial Intelligence Delivery Head at Standard Chartered Bank's Centre of Excellence, she leads strategic AI implementations and refines AI products targeting both structured and unstructured data.
Stripe India | Head-Stripe Delivery Center, Board Director
Sivakumar is a seasoned tech expert and people leader, renowned for his mastery in customer experience, operations management, and innovation. With a proven track record of building world-class delivery centers and scaling global teams from zero to hundreds, his two-decade career includes leadership roles at industry giants such as Google, Meta, and Amazon. Currently, he heads the Stripe Delivery Center in India, while also lending his expertise to startups in product strategy, growth, and organizational culture development.
Transunion | HR Head - Senior Director
Jacob, an alumnus of Anna University, is a master in large-scale talent transformations across IT, Banking & Finance, Manufacturing, and Shared Services domains. With over two decades of experience in talent transformation, Jacob has led diverse teams in global organizations in various HR leadership roles, including HR strategic consulting, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, HR Business Partnering, Employee Engagement & Relations, HR Generalist, and Compensation & Benefits (C&B).
Western Digital | Senior Director, Firmware Engineering
Kaustubh Patkar is a visionary global leader with 19 years of experience in the storage industry. He is adept at seeding, nurturing and building high performance teams across the globe. He holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering & computer science from the University of California, Irvine. He spent 12 years in the US where he built product, strategic and architecture teams for Western Digital. He played a pivotal role in building Western Digital’s GCC & Hard Disk Drive Business Unit ground up in India. He brings a wealth of semiconductor and software knowledge with strategic leadership and inspires trust, purpose and growth.
State Street | Vice President HR
Human Resource professional with over 19 years of specialist experience in the various sub domains of HR function- Recruitment, Performance Management, Employee Engagement, Employee relations, Grievance Handling, Business partnering, Internal Communication & Branding.
Proven experience in collaborating with senior management to conduct Human Resource strategic planning in order to support and further corporate goals.
Experience spanning across IT , ITES and Banking industry segments.
Currently leading Talent Marketplace for India @State Street.
Certified Green belt & Free lance experience in soft skill trainings
Kenvue | Vice President & Managing Director
With an illustrious career of more than 27 years, I possess a plethora of invaluable experience and expertise as a GCC Delivery Leader. My distinguished record of accomplishments showcases my ability to specialize in driving strategic digital transformation, infrastructure and operational transformation, and deftly managing complex service delivery projects for BFSI accounts. Moreover, I am an accomplished D&I champion & Certified Professional Coach (PCC) who ardently advocates for fostering an inclusive workplace environment and driving impactful change across organizations.
Zyoin Group | Founder & CEO
Anuj, a respected business leader, has amassed over 20 years of experience in providing innovative and customized hiring solutions across a wide range of domains and industries. As the Founder and CEO of Zyoin Group, a leading recruitment solutions provider in India, he has partnered with over 1,000 companies to simplify their hiring challenges. Anuj's commendable expertise in developing robust business and delivery models in staffing and recruitment has been acknowledged by LinkedIn, which recognized Zyoin as one of India's and Asia's most socially engaged staffing agencies.
Furthermore, Anuj's influence extends beyond Zyoin Group. He serves as a managing partner at Zest Partners, an impact hiring solution provider under the Zyoin Group umbrella. He is also a partner at Thalaron Global, an advisory and accelerator for establishing Global Captive Centres in India. Anuj's entrepreneurial spirit is evident in his angel investments in several startups. On a personal note, he is a sports enthusiast and finds joy in networking, photography, and reading business biographies.
Zyoin Group | Co-Founder and COO
Rakesh is currently the Co-founder and COO of Zyoin, a leading staffing and recruitment solutions provider. With 13 years of diverse experience in multiple sectors, he has developed expertise in client management and recruitment for multinational and Fortune 500 companies. He specializes in leadership hiring, particularly at Mid-to-CXO, CFO, VP, and SVP levels, as well as talent hunts across all levels and customized executive search. Rakesh recruits for IT and non-IT product and service companies, Fortune 500 firms, and successful startups. His specialties include talent acquisition, headhunting, recruitment, career counseling, and training, ensuring a high hit rate and meeting stakeholder expectations through extensive research.
Shell | Head of Talent Acquisition
A distinguished HR leader acclaimed for his strategic expertise in talent management, employee relations, and transformative resourcing initiatives, Fabian is currently the Head of Integrated Resourcing at Shell India Markets Private Limited.
Atlassian | Head of Engineering
Preeti Arora is a seasoned Software Engineering leader with over two decades of experience in software development. She has held leadership roles at Atlassian, Walmart Global Tech, Chegg, IHS Markit, CA Technologies, and TCS. Recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice for Cloud Computing and enterprise software, Preeti is known for her strategic technology leadership and operational excellence, driving significant business impact. A gold medalist throughout her academics, she is also an AWS Certified Solution Architect and an AI and ML scholar at IIT Delhi. Passionate about problem-solving and critical thinking, Preeti continues to excel in her field.
Ex-Country Manager (Carelon, JC Penney & Supervalu)
Anilesh Seth, an accomplished executive, spearheaded the establishment and growth of captives for renowned firms like Anthem Inc. (Legato), SUPERVALU, and JC Penney. With a doctorate from ISB Hyderabad, he's a proven leader in scaling operations, notably achieving a rapid ramp-up of Legato to 7000 associates across 4 centers in two years. An expert in offshore capabilities, Anilesh offers a unique perspective from his extensive experience with both captives and third-party vendors. As an independent Strategy Consultant, he continues to drive success in the GCC/Captives space.
HSBC | Global Head - Talent Development
Fouzia Kumar has 19 years of experience in Talent & Learning Strategy, Performance Consulting & Needs Analysis, Leadership & Capability Development, Training - V&A / Process - Domain, Quality, Customer Relationship Management, Employee Engagement with demonstrated ability to deliver business outcomes, ROI and alignment to organizational goals.
Alyve Health | Co-founder and CEO
Shashank Avadhani is the CEO and Co-founder of Alyve Health. His vision is that healthcare can be transformed through technology and product innovation in the health insurance space. This is precisely the area of focus of Alyve Health. Before founding Alyve Health, Shashank held the position of Partner at Boston Consulting Group, where he was instrumental in driving transformative digital programs for leading Insurers and Banks in India. Shashank's professional journey showcases a commitment to innovation and bringing a lasting change, by not only focusing on the end customer but also by addressing the evolving needs of the various stakeholders in the industry. He is a Mechanical engineer from the National Institute of Technology and an alumni of XLRI Jamshedpur.
Adrenalin | Managing Director & CEO
Srinivasa Bharathy, an esteemed visionary and trailblazer in the realm of business and technology, is the CEO and MD of Adrenalin eSystems. With a remarkable journey marked by innovation, leadership, and philanthropy, he has positioned himself at the forefront of redefining the HR technology landscape.
Bharathy's leadership steers Adrenalin MAX, Adrenalin eSystems' flagship HR platform, into a new era of hybrid work culture. With an unwavering focus on empowering organizations with cutting-edge HR solutions, he envisions Adrenalin as the game changer in the industry, revolutionizing HR practices.
With a strong foundation in Engineering from NIT Karnataka and an Executive MBA from Open University Business School (OUBS), London, Bharathy embodies a commitment to continuous learning and growth. As a certified Wharton Digital Marketing Professional, he adeptly navigates the digital age.
His expertise spans Business Strategy, Product Management, Sales, and Implementation, demonstrated through roles at global enterprises like Whirlpool, TVS Group, and Ramco Systems. His involvement with The Alternative Board (TAB) India showcases his dedication to mentoring SMEs.
Beyond his professional achievements, Bharathy co-founded the Pooranavalli Foundation, reflecting his commitment to social betterment. His journey epitomizes business acumen, innovation, and a heart for positive change. With Adrenalin MAX, Bharathy is leading the charge in shaping the future of HR technology and business practices, leaving an indelible legacy.
Adidas | Head of Innovation
Dr. Mahesh Balaji is a problem solver with over 25 years of Industry experience. He currently heads Innovation and enabling functions for adidas-GBS.
In this role, he is responsible for identifying suitable interventions as well as delivering optimal solutions to overcome enterprise challenges.
His responsibilities also include incubating emerging technology capabilities and nurturing thought leadership.
LSEG | Global People Leader
Sahana Shetty has over twenty three years of experience in the People Function, leading Global
Organizations and Talent Growth by delivering strategic transformative outcomes. She has
managed culturally diverse global teams through periods of high growth as well as lead digital and
cultural transformation across US, UK and APAC. Sahana is passionate about building high-
performance and inclusive teams while celebrating differences.
Sahana is currently the Global People Partner – Infrastructure & Cloud at London Stock Exchange Group and was previously leading HR for Technology at ANZ. Prior to this, she was the HR Head of DreamWorks Animation and led the cultural transformation with a focus on employee experience. She has worked at organizations like Dell, Zinnov, Trilogy and IBM-Fiberlink etc.
Terrapay | Global Head of HR
Vinay is the Global Head of HR, Admin and Travel at TerraPay. With over 15 years of experience in human resources verticals, Vinay has set multiple benchmarks for years to come. He is a top LinkedIn voice for HR, recruitment, and performance management. He holds the prestigious TA Pai Young HR Leader award along with the Exceptional HR Leader Award by BW - Business World People magazine.
Connect with top C-suite leaders, explore partnerships, & expand your brand's reach
Amplify your brand, attract new customers, and draw in potential partners
Stay ahead of the curve. Gain exclusive insights into emerging industry trends and disruptions
Engage in diverse industry discussions. Share groundbreaking thought leadership on a global stage.
Highlight your achievements, earn awards and recognition for your brand's impact and excellence
All GCC (Global Capability Centres) organisations can be nominated for the Workplace Awards by themselves or by other industry experts, clients, customers, or any other stakeholders. The nomination process will be open to businesses across India.
All nominations will undergo impartial screening based on eligibility criteria, including the requirement that organisations must be GCCs, Social Media Prominence, Innovation, Industry Recognition and Online Presence.
The screened nominations will then be shortlisted based on the employee and employer responses collected through Survey shared.
The evaluation will be based on quantitative and qualitative elements including Employee Engagement, Recognition, Work-Life Balance, Team Collaboration, Leadership, Training & Development, Employee Well-Being, and Diversity & Inclusion initiatives gathered from the survey.
The winners will be announced through a formal ceremony and event scheduled on 02 August 2024. Winners will receive a trophy and a certificate of recognition. The announcement of the winners will also be publicised through various media channels to promote the winning businesses.
