Arecent article in Businessweek reports that there are as many as 1,000 foreigners holding senior positions in India. This number was less than 150 in 2005 and is expected to double by 2009. India beckons!
Reliance Life Sciences has 15 expatriates, of which several hold senior positions. 7 of the 8 top officials at Cisco Systems’ Globalization Center in India are expatriates. Consulting giant Accenture has nearly 100 expatriates in India. India’s newly acquired magnetism on the global stage is pulling in foreigners. What’s more, the article goes on to quote international search firm Egon Zehnder’s research, which shows that 50% of senior management searches are now targeted at non-Indians in the quest to get ‘the best person for the job’, especially in niche areas like infrastructure, aviation, retail, and life sciences, where talent is short. Contracts are typically for three to five years. Some of these salaries are two to three times higher than their Indian counterparts, but the domain expertise they bring justifies the disparities.
