Hyderabad, India: Citizens Financial Group has appointed Rajesh Mani as the Head of its India Global Capability Centre (GCC), reinforcing the bank’s long-term commitment to expanding its technology and innovation capabilities in India. The leadership appointment comes as the U.S.-based financial institution continues to strengthen its Hyderabad operations following the launch of its GCC earlier this year.

Rajesh Mani brings more than two decades of experience in banking technology, payments, digital transformation, and global engineering leadership. Before joining Citizens Financial Group, he held senior leadership positions at Mastercard, where he led the company’s India Technology Hub and played a significant role in scaling engineering teams and driving innovation initiatives.

In his new role, Mani will oversee the strategic direction, growth, and operational excellence of the India GCC. He will be responsible for expanding the centre’s technology capabilities while strengthening collaboration with global business and technology teams across Citizens Financial Group.

The Hyderabad GCC serves as a strategic technology and innovation hub supporting the bank’s enterprise-wide digital transformation initiatives. The centre focuses on areas including cloud engineering, data and analytics, cybersecurity, software engineering, artificial intelligence, and digital banking solutions. It is expected to play an increasingly important role in accelerating product development, improving customer experiences, and modernizing the bank’s technology infrastructure.
Citizens Financial Group established its India GCC in Hyderabad through a strategic partnership with Cognizant. The centre was launched with plans to scale to approximately 1,000 professionals, supporting the bank’s “Next Generation Technology” strategy while leveraging Hyderabad’s growing ecosystem of technology talent

The appointment of Rajesh Mani reflects Citizens Financial Group’s focus on building a strong local leadership team capable of driving innovation, attracting high-quality engineering talent, and delivering strategic technology outcomes from India. His expertise in managing large-scale technology organizations is expected to help the company accelerate its digital transformation roadmap and strengthen the GCC’s position as a key contributor to global operations.

Mumbai, India: Global consulting firm J.S. Held has announced the appointment of Irvinder Singh Lail as its new Head of Global Capability, reinforcing the company’s commitment to scaling its global operating model, strengthening cross-border collaboration, and advancing technology-driven consulting services.

The leadership appointment comes as organizations across industries continue investing in Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and distributed delivery models to improve agility, access specialized talent, and deliver around-the-clock services to clients worldwide.

Driving the Next Phase of Global Capability

In his new role, Irvinder Singh Lail will lead the evolution of J.S. Held’s global capability framework, focusing on expanding centres of expertise, standardizing shared operational platforms, and improving collaboration across multiple geographies. His mandate also includes strengthening the firm’s ability to mobilize specialized experts quickly for complex, high-impact client engagements.

The position is designed to support J.S. Held’s long-term growth strategy by creating a more integrated operating model that connects teams across regions while increasing scalability and operational efficiency.

Extensive Experience in Global Transformation

Irvinder Singh Lail joins J.S. Held with more than 25 years of leadership experience spanning operational transformation, strategy consulting, global talent management, and process excellence across professional services, banking, financial services, insurance, and technology sectors.

Before joining J.S. Held, he played a key role in building and scaling Global Capability Centres at Alvarez & Marsal, while also holding senior leadership positions at Bain & Company, EY, and Swiss Re. Throughout his career, he has led the establishment of global operations hubs for organizations including Lloyds TSB Bank, AIG, Bupa, Bain & Company, and Alvarez & Marsal.

His background combines operational excellence with expertise in talent strategy, digital transformation, and Lean Six Sigma methodologies, making him well positioned to lead J.S. Held’s expanding global capability initiatives.

Building a Technology-Enabled Global Delivery Model

One of Lail’s key responsibilities will be aligning global talent strategy with the firm’s digital transformation agenda. Working closely with the company’s digital transformation leadership, he will help ensure that investments in automation, artificial intelligence, and digital platforms are supported by the right organizational capabilities and workforce strategy.

As consulting firms increasingly adopt AI-enabled workflows and technology-driven service delivery, integrating human expertise with digital capabilities has become a critical competitive differentiator.

Leadership Perspective

Announcing the appointment, Lee Spirer, President and CEO of J.S. Held, emphasized that the firm’s future growth depends not only on expanding its geographic footprint but also on strengthening how global teams collaborate and deliver expertise as one integrated organization. He highlighted Irvinder Singh Lail’s experience in building operational systems and attracting specialized talent as key factors behind the appointment.

Lail also shared his vision for the role, noting that his focus will be on optimizing the firm’s operational layer, strengthening collaboration across regions, standardizing shared platforms, and leveraging AI and digital technologies to enable experts worldwide to work seamlessly as a single global team.

Reflecting the Evolution of Global Capability Centres

The appointment also reflects a broader trend within the GCC ecosystem. Global organizations are increasingly creating leadership roles in India with enterprise-wide responsibilities, moving beyond traditional delivery operations toward strategic ownership, innovation, digital transformation, and business leadership.

With India’s mature talent ecosystem, growing AI capabilities, and expanding leadership base, companies are positioning the country as a strategic hub for global decision-making rather than simply a delivery location.

Looking Ahead

By appointing Irvinder Singh Lail as Head of Global Capability, J.S. Held is reinforcing its commitment to building a globally connected, technology-enabled consulting organization capable of delivering faster, smarter, and more integrated solutions for clients worldwide.

As consulting firms continue investing in AI, automation, and globally distributed expertise, leadership roles such as this are expected to play an increasingly important part in shaping the future of enterprise consulting and global service delivery

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Chennai, India: NielsenIQ (NIQ) has elevated Poornima Subramanian to the role of India GCC HR Leader, reinforcing its commitment to strengthening people leadership and supporting the continued growth of its Global Capability Centre (GCC) operations in India

In her expanded role, Subramanian will lead the company’s people and talent strategy for its India GCC, with a strong focus on workforce expansion, employee experience, leadership development, and HR transformation. Her appointment comes as Global Capability Centers continue to evolve into strategic hubs for innovation, technology, and business operations, making strong HR leadership increasingly critical.

The promotion marks an important milestone in Subramanian’s nearly two-decade career in human resources. Since joining NielsenIQ in December 2021 as Associate Director – Human Resources, she has played a key role in advancing employee engagement, organizational effectiveness, and people-centric initiatives while contributing to the company’s employer branding and workplace excellence programs.

Before joining NielsenIQ, Subramanian served as Senior Manager – Human Resources at D4 Insight, where she led the HR function and focused on building a strong workplace culture and enhancing employee experience. Earlier, she worked as Senior HR Advisor at BNY Mellon Technology India, supporting HR operations across multiple business units with responsibilities spanning performance management, rewards and recognition, employee engagement, organizational development, and workforce planning.

A significant part of her career was spent at Ramco Systems, where she served for more than a decade as Manager – Human Resources. During this period, she partnered with teams across India as well as international markets, including South Africa, the Middle East, and Sudan. Her expertise covered HR business partnering, HR analytics, compensation and benefits, HRIS, performance management, and employee engagement

Throughout her professional journey, Subramanian has developed deep expertise in talent management, workforce planning, organizational development, HR technology, compensation and rewards, employee engagement, and HR analytics. Her elevation reflects NielsenIQ’s strategy of nurturing internal leadership while strengthening its people capabilities to support the company’s expanding GCC footprint in India.

As India continues to emerge as a global destination for high-value Global Capability Centers, leadership appointments such as this underscore the growing importance of HR in building scalable, future-ready organizations. By investing in experienced people leaders, NielsenIQ is positioning its India GCC to attract, develop, and retain world-class talent while enabling innovation and sustainable business growth.