The GCC that earns strategic influence does not wait to be invited into that role

AI is reshaping healthcare with unprecedented speed. From intelligent supply chains and predictive analytics to automated workflows and decision support systems, the technology promises greater efficiency across the healthcare ecosystem. Yet for organisations operating in a sector where every decision can ultimately influence patient outcomes, digital transformation cannot simply be a race to adopt the latest innovation. It has to be built on trust.

That philosophy is increasingly defining the evolution of Terumo India’s Global Capability Centre (GCC). As the company expands its global responsibilities across finance, supply chain, IT, legal and digital operations, the conversation is moving well beyond operational excellence. The focus today is on shaping enterprise strategy while ensuring that innovation never comes at the cost of governance or patient safety.

For Virender Bansal, Vice President – Finance, Supply Chain, IT & Legal and India Head of GCC at Terumo, responsible innovation is not a slogan but an operating principle.

“Healthcare is different from most industries because the impact of a technology decision goes far beyond just business performance. Ultimately, everything that we do affects patient care and outcomes,” he says. “Every AI and automation initiative must meet rigorous standards of validation, compliance, reliability and transparency.”

Unlike industries where rapid deployment often takes precedence, healthcare demands a more deliberate approach. Terumo’s digital strategy therefore seeks to balance ambition with accountability, ensuring that AI systems are resilient enough to earn the confidence of regulators, clinicians and patients alike.

From execution centre to strategic partner

The transformation taking place within India’s GCC ecosystem is changing the relationship between headquarters and global capability centres. Cost arbitrage is giving way to enterprise influence, with leading GCCs increasingly participating in strategic business decisions rather than simply executing them.

Terumo India’s journey reflects this broader shift. “The conversation has evolved from how we can support global strategy to how we can actively shape and influence it,” says Bansal.

According to him, teams across finance, supply chain and technology are now contributing directly to global decision-making forums while assuming ownership of end-to-end business processes and leading enterprise-wide digital initiatives. The objective is no longer operational efficiency alone but creating measurable business value through AI, data capabilities and deeper domain expertise.

He believes that strategic influence is earned through sustained delivery rather than organisational hierarchy. “The GCC that earns strategic influence does not wait to be invited into that role. It builds the credibility, the capability and the track record that makes the invitation inevitable.”

That philosophy is also driving investments in leadership development. Future GCC leaders, Bansal argues, must think beyond functional excellence and develop an enterprise-wide perspective capable of influencing global priorities.

Why governance accelerates innovation

Healthcare organisations today face multiple and often competing priorities. They must innovate rapidly while remaining compliant with increasingly stringent regulations. They must improve operational efficiency without compromising quality or trust.

Bansal argues that framing governance and innovation as opposing forces is fundamentally flawed. “In a regulated healthcare environment, governance is not a constraint on innovation. It is the foundation that enables innovation to scale effectively.”

Embedding compliance, quality assurance and regulatory oversight early into technology design reduces friction later in deployment, enabling faster adoption because confidence has already been built into the system.

His warning is equally clear for organisations pursuing AI without sufficient discipline. “Velocity without governance creates technical debt and regulatory risk. But governance without velocity creates irrelevance.”

The answer, he says, lies in breaking organisational silos so that technology, finance, compliance and operations collaborate from the very beginning instead of working sequentially.

Beyond AI pilots

Despite significant investments in AI, many organisations continue to struggle with enterprise-scale transformation. Bansal believes the reasons have little to do with technology itself. “Experimentation is relatively easy. Most organisations have no shortage of pilots, proof-of-concepts and innovation showcases.”

The real challenge emerges when organisations attempt to integrate those pilots into core business operations. Successful transformation requires redesigning processes, managing organisational change and building AI-ready talent rather than simply deploying new tools. “The gap is almost never about technology. It is about integration, adoption and institutional will,” he explains.

For AI to become part of an operating model rather than an isolated experiment, leadership must be willing to fundamentally rethink how work is performed. Equally important are governance frameworks mature enough to support innovation at scale without sacrificing control.

In his view, organisations that succeed are not necessarily those spending the most on AI. They are the ones maintaining a disciplined alignment between digital investments and measurable business outcomes.

The enduring value of human leadership

As AI systems become increasingly capable of pattern recognition, prediction and automation, questions naturally arise about the future role of human leadership.

Bansal sees technology enhancing decision-making but never replacing accountability. “AI will get better at pattern recognition, prediction and process optimisation faster than most organisations are prepared for.”

However, healthcare decisions frequently involve ethical judgement, incomplete information and competing stakeholder interests. Those realities demand qualities that algorithms cannot replicate. “The decisions that matter most are rarely purely analytical. They carry ethical weight, stakeholder complexity and consequences that require someone to own them.”

In healthcare, where trust remains the industry’s most valuable asset, leadership continues to depend on the ability to make difficult decisions under uncertainty while maintaining an organisation’s moral compass. “AI will make leaders more informed. In a sector where trust is the ultimate currency, that humanity is not a soft skill but the core competency.”

The next chapter for India’s GCCs

Looking ahead, Bansal believes India’s GCC story will increasingly be defined by influence rather than scale. While talent and operational excellence have fuelled the country’s rise as the world’s preferred GCC destination, the next phase will require centres to play a more active role in shaping enterprise strategy.

Future-ready GCCs, he argues, must treat AI not simply as another technology investment but as a catalyst for innovation, business transformation and long-term value creation. At the same time, organisations must cultivate leaders capable of navigating complexity and influencing global decisions.

The bigger challenge, however, may be cultural rather than technological. “As the business landscape continues to evolve, GCCs must be willing to challenge established ways of working and embrace new approaches that will prepare them for the future.”

India’s GCC ecosystem has already demonstrated remarkable resilience and capability. The next opportunity lies in redefining what global leadership looks like in an AI-driven enterprise where trust, governance and human judgement become the true competitive differentiators.