Achyuta Ghosh — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research [00:06]
Hello, and welcome back to HFS GCC Advantage. In this series, we speak with GCC leaders and GBS leaders about how the GCC model is changing as enterprises rethink work, talent, data, AI, and value creation. Today’s conversation is about building a strategic GCC at a very important moment for the enterprise. To talk about this, I’m joined by Mohit Bhatia, Head of India Global Capability Centers at Rolls-Royce. Mohit brings decades of experience across shared services, GBS, operations, and global delivery at organizations including Maersk, Mondelez, Genpact, and American Express. At Rolls-Royce, he’s taking on a new challenge: building a GCC that contributes to enterprise outcomes, positions India as a strategic talent and capability hub, and helps the company deliver AI-enabled services across the business. Mohit, welcome to the show.
Mohit Bhatia — Head of India Global Capability Centers, Rolls-Royce [00:57]
Thank you so much for having me. I’m looking forward to the conversation.
Achyuta Ghosh — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research [01:04]
Mohit, you’ve spent nearly four decades building and leading GBS organizations across American Express, Mondelez, Maersk, and now Rolls-Royce. What attracted you to come out of retirement and take on the challenge of building an early-stage GCC at this point in your career?
Mohit Bhatia — Head of India Global Capability Centers, Rolls-Royce [03:00]
I’ve seen the entire evolution. I’ve said this before, so some of our listeners may have heard it, but if you’re starting a new GCC today, or you’re still in the early stages, it’s important to try and jump the curve. Why would you start at the bottom of someone else’s learning curve when you can begin much closer to where others have already reached? That doesn’t mean it’s easy, and it doesn’t mean you can immediately start at the very top. But at the same time, there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. We can start using modern technologies immediately. We can learn from best practices, and we can learn from the pitfalls of other GCCs. That allows us to skip many of the steps that weren’t possible three decades ago when GCCs first began growing in India. Clearly, I don’t want to follow that traditional cycle for Rolls-Royce. My vision is to build a contemporary, world-class GCC. We’ll leverage proven methodologies such as Six Sigma and value stream mapping. Our initial focus is going to be on fixing the fundamentals and building a strong foundation. From there, we’ll accelerate into modern technologies and automation. If you think back fifteen or twenty years, we didn’t have workflow platforms like we do today. AI existed in some form, but nothing close to what we have now. Service management was largely manual. Service placement was more ad hoc and leader-led than based on data or science. There’s simply no reason to follow the same path we took twenty years ago, and I certainly don’t intend to do that at Rolls-Royce. We want a well-defined service delivery model. We want everyone aligned around it. We want clear RACIs, modern platforms, and modern technologies. As far as AI is concerned, I don’t see it as something additive. I want our teams to weave AI into the fabric of our processes rather than treating it as a one-off initiative. That’s how I’m thinking about it today.
Achyuta Ghosh — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research [05:18]
You’re currently in those first twelve to eighteen months. Are your priorities significantly different from what they would have been when building a GCC in the past?
Mohit Bhatia — Head of India Global Capability Centers, Rolls-Royce [05:30]
Every GCC is at a different stage of its evolution. Having recently joined Rolls-Royce, I’m starting from where the organization is today and looking at how we can take it to the next level. As I mentioned earlier, my initial focus isn’t going to be AI for AI’s sake. The first priority is execution excellence. I want to fix the fundamentals and make sure our processes are ready for automation. Once those processes are ready, I want to move directly to modern technologies and ensure AI becomes part of the fabric of everything we do, rather than being limited to a few pilots or isolated point solutions. For me, the most important thing is strengthening the core. Once you have a strong core, the GCC can do almost anything and begin creating meaningful business outcomes. At the same time, I want to be realistic. In an early-stage GCC, I don’t want to claim that we’re influencing business outcomes from day one. That’s simply not how transformation works. The first few months are about getting ready, fixing the basics, and strengthening the core so we’re in a position to truly influence business outcomes. That’s one of the biggest differences compared with how we approached GCCs in the past.
Achyuta Ghosh — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research [06:44]
I completely agree. The first few months are usually the least glamorous part of the journey, where you’re focused on getting the fundamentals right. Rolls-Royce GCC is already one and a half to two years old, so a certain amount of groundwork has already been completed. After that, organizations can move toward what HFS calls **Services-as-Software** and ultimately build a generative enterprise. As you continue building the Rolls-Royce GCC, how are AI and data influencing your operating model, and what enterprise outcomes do you believe they can help you achieve?
Mohit Bhatia — Head of India Global Capability Centers, Rolls-Royce [07:26]
Getting data right is absolutely critical. When I say that, I don’t just mean cleaning master data or building a good data lake. It’s also about something people don’t talk about enough, which is data safeguarding and data segregation. We need strong compliance and controls around who can access what data. Cleaning the data is only the first step. At Rolls-Royce, we want to make this a major priority, not only to achieve one hundred percent compliance, but also to ensure our data is ready so we can unlock the multiplier effect of modern technologies and AI.
Mohit Bhatia — Head of India Global Capability Centers, Rolls-Royce [08:00]
Otherwise, we won’t realize the ROI from applying AI to poor-quality data or data that hasn’t been properly segregated. Having a strong data lake, together with proper data safeguarding and segregation, means we can take full advantage of the technologies available to us. When you mention Services-as-Software, I absolutely believe in that vision. I’ve heard Phil Fersht talk about the $1.5 trillion opportunity, and I have no reason to doubt it. I’m certainly a supporter. The only point I’d make is that the journey will be gradual. Whether we call it Services-as-Software or the Uberization of services, the transition won’t happen overnight. Not because it’s the wrong direction, but because many organizations still have significant work to do around data debt, data integrity, and end-to-end process maturity. Once those foundations are in place, I absolutely believe that’s the direction we’ll move in.
Achyuta Ghosh — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research [09:02]
Would you build those capabilities internally, or would you partner with service providers? Do you see a preference either way?
Mohit Bhatia — Head of India Global Capability Centers, Rolls-Royce [09:15]
As far as the Global Capability Center and our business processes are concerned, our current thinking is to keep those capabilities in-house. However, we’ll certainly work with partners and third parties when it comes to technology. Whether it’s workflow platforms, off-the-shelf solutions, custom-built capabilities, or implementing our new SAP S/4HANA ERP platform, we’ll absolutely rely on systems integration partners to support us. Similarly, when it comes to workflow platforms, there are many options available today. We’ll evaluate them carefully to determine which solutions best fit our environment. We’re very happy to partner where it makes sense. However, the actual processing, execution, and ownership within the GCC will remain internal.
Achyuta Ghosh — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research [09:55]
From the GCC perspective, what are the top AI opportunities you see helping to drive enterprise value?
Mohit Bhatia — Head of India Global Capability Centers, Rolls-Royce [10:08]
I look at this from both a business outcomes perspective and a functional perspective. From a business standpoint, Rolls-Royce is in the business of jet engines, propulsion, and energy solutions. One of the biggest opportunities for AI is predictive analytics for engine maintenance. That’s where we generate significant long-term value. It’s critical that we understand how to maintain engines proactively once they’re in service, because that’s where much of the business value is created. From a functional perspective, there are opportunities across finance and accounting, particularly around three-way matching, automated reconciliations, procurement, and HR. We’re also looking at improving employee self-service through intelligent chatbots and self-learning tools that help employees quickly find answers and complete tasks. A strong enterprise service management platform gives employees a single place to access information and services across the organization. Those initiatives are all part of our roadmap. We’re focusing on AI and automation from both the business outcomes perspective and the functional operations perspective, and the GCC will play an important role across both.
Achyuta Ghosh — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research [11:44]
A new operating model also requires a different talent model. What kinds of skills, mindsets, and leadership capabilities are you prioritizing as you build the Rolls-Royce GCC? How are they different from what you looked for when building GCCs in the past?
Mohit Bhatia — Head of India Global Capability Centers, Rolls-Royce [12:05]
That’s a very important question. Talent has always been incredibly close to my heart. I’ve spoken publicly about this before. All the excitement around AI and automation won’t deliver meaningful business outcomes unless you have the right people, both today and in the future. It really comes down to getting the right talent in place. It’s not only about hiring people with the right experience or technical skills. It’s equally about mindset, behaviors, curiosity, learning agility, and the willingness to adapt as technology continues to evolve. For us, building a strong culture is just as important as building technical capability.
Mohit Bhatia — Head of India Global Capability Centers, Rolls-Royce [12:30]
It’s about bringing in people who are curious, who have learning agility, and who are prepared for the rapid pace of technological change. For us, building a strong culture and developing the right mindset across our teams is extremely important. Within Rolls-Royce, we talk about something called **V-Ease**. It’s about efficiency, effectiveness, and empowerment. We want these principles embedded not only in our processes but also in the way our people think, behave, and lead. Personally, I want my managers to think like enterprise leaders rather than as leaders of a standalone GCC. A GCC, like any other function, exists to help the business grow. That means wearing the hat of an enterprise leader, being growth-oriented, demonstrating empathetic leadership, while also being accountable and willing to make difficult decisions. Those are the qualities I look for when hiring and developing talent today. Those are some of the softer capabilities. Needless to say, we also want our future workforce to be technology-savvy and highly familiar with AI. That’s now a given. We’re actively working on our build-versus-buy strategy to determine how we’ll acquire those capabilities while continuing to reinforce the right culture and mindset. One more point on talent, because it’s something I’m very passionate about. As we talk about the future and the pace of change driven by AI, we shouldn’t lose sight of the traditional leadership qualities that have always mattered. Curiosity, people leadership, empathy, executive presence, communication, and deep domain expertise remain just as important as ever. Those capabilities shouldn’t be overlooked simply because AI is now at the center of many conversations. In short, Rolls-Royce is fully committed to investing in both talent and infrastructure to build a truly world-class organization.
Achyuta Ghosh — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research [15:18]
We have time for one final question. Rolls-Royce leadership has been very vocal about India’s strategic importance. We’ve seen senior leadership engage directly with the Government of India and meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As you look ahead, what role do you see India playing in Rolls-Royce’s long-term strategy, and what role will the GCC play in that journey?
Mohit Bhatia — Head of India Global Capability Centers, Rolls-Royce [15:40]
Thank you. I’ll keep this brief. Rolls-Royce wants to make India a true home market. That’s a significant statement for the organization. What it really means is that we want to deepen our engagement across the country. We want to partner with the government, work closely with the private sector, and continue investing in jet engine, propulsion, and energy technologies. Our goal is to help India strengthen its capabilities across defence, civil aviation, energy, and even emerging areas such as powering data centers. That’s a core part of our long-term strategy. We also want to partner with local organizations, industry, and government institutions to make that vision a reality. Our CEO has shared that, over the next five to seven years, the Rolls-Royce ecosystem in India could grow to around 10,000 people, including our partners. We have ambitious plans for India, and I’m incredibly excited to be part of that journey.
Achyuta Ghosh — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research [16:41]
Well, thank you, Mohit, for joining us today and for sharing your perspectives. What stood out for me is that building a GCC today is no longer just about choosing the right location, reducing costs, or achieving scale. It’s about the choices leaders make from day one around talent, data, AI, governance, and enterprise relevance. Your own journey also demonstrates that while experience is invaluable, so is the willingness to rethink the playbook for a very different world. I think that’s something you’ve clearly demonstrated throughout this conversation. Thank you once again for being part of HFS GCC Advantage.
Mohit Bhatia — Head of India Global Capability Centers, Rolls-Royce [17:16]
My pleasure. Thank you again for having me. All the best.
