17th edition of the longest-running GCC and technology awards recognizes 18 organizations and leaders defining the next era of value creation from India
BENGALURU, India , Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The 17th edition of the Zinnov Awards, held on Day 1 of Zinnov Confluence 2026, recognized 18 organizations and leaders across 10 categories for their impact on innovation, AI, leadership, talent, culture, and enterprise value creation. One of the most coveted recognitions in the GCC ecosystem, the Zinnov Awards celebrate the Titans in Tech building world-class capabilities from India for the world.
This year’s Awards come as India’s GCCs undergo a fundamental reset – moving beyond labor and cost arbitrage to value arbitrage and evolving into high-maturity nerve centers that increasingly own products, platforms, innovation, and global business outcomes.
Anchored in the theme of Winning the AI Race , this edition reflects how quickly GCC transformation is accelerating. According to the Nasscom-Zinnov GCC Landscape Report 2026 , more than 1,200 India GCCs have AI/ML capabilities, supported by over 250,000 AI/ML professionals. Further, 96% of GCCs established post-FY2021 entered with a product or portfolio mandate, while 49% were AI-first from day one.
Three new categories – AI Excellence, Ecosystem Synergy Award, and AI Innovation Vanguard – were introduced this year, recognizing the growing importance of enterprise AI impact, ecosystem-led innovation, and technology leadership.
The three new categories reflect how GCCs are moving beyond AI adoption to shape innovation, ecosystems, and enterprise-wide outcomes. Their introduction mirrors a broader shift already underway across the industry, even as the Awards continue to recognize excellence across the full spectrum of GCC leadership, talent, scale, and capability.
“India’s GCC story is entering a defining new chapter. The advantage is no longer simply talent at scale or cost; it is the ability to create disproportionate enterprise value. As AI reshapes businesses, we are seeing greater product ownership, innovation, global leadership, and decision-making emerge from India. The organizations and leaders recognized at the Zinnov Awards represent this next frontier – GCCs evolving from centers of capability into nerve centers of the global enterprise,” said Nitika Goel , Managing Partner and Chief Marketing Officer, Zinnov.
The 2026 winners span organizations and leaders advancing AI, creating enterprise value, building innovation ecosystems, developing talent, and strengthening technical and leadership depth. Together, they underscore a larger shift: India is no longer only where global enterprises build capability. It is increasingly where they build what comes next.
The Zinnov Awards celebrate the people and organizations making that possibility real
Full list of 2026 winners by category in Appendix A.
Ecosystem synergy award
Samsung R&D Institute India – Bangalore
Guidewire Software India
Great Place to Innovate
Micron Technology India
Value creation champion
Fluence Global Innovation Center
TIAA Global Capabilities
People & Culture Excellence
TIAA Global Capabilities
Hewlett Packard Enterprise India
NextGen Women leaders
Vasudha Bommireddy – Providence Global Center
Garima Srivastava – SAP Labs India
AI Innovation Vanguard
Ranjan Kumar Samal – Samsung R&D Institute India – Bangalore
Dr. Sunil Kumar Chinnamgari – Maersk Technology Center, Bangalore
Technical Role Model- Emerging
Narayanan Balakrishnan – Walmart Global Tech
Technical Role Model- Established
Ravi Kumar Kappagantu – Lloyds Technology Centre
Wells Fargo India & Philippines
Zinnov is a global management and strategy consulting firm that helps organizations build, scale, and transform businesses through technology, AI, globalization, and innovation.
For over two decades, Zinnov has partnered with Fortune 500 enterprises, technology platforms, hyperscalers, Global Capability Centers (GCCs), technology service providers, and Private Equity firms to solve complex growth and transformation challenges. The firm has advised 250+ Fortune 500 companies, helped establish and transform 220+ Global Capability Centers, and supported 100+ Private Equity firms on technology investments, M&A, and value creation.
Zinnov’s expertise spans four strategic areas:
- Global Capability Centers (GCCs): End-to-end advisory and implementation across the GCC lifecycle, including strategy, location and workspace selection, setup, scaling, operating model design, AI-led transformation, and global enterprise integration. Through its GCC-as- a -Service model, Zinnov combines consulting, execution, and the industry’s largest proprietary GCC intelligence platforms to help enterprises make data-driven decisions across talent, innovation, operating models, and AI while accelerating business outcomes through productivity, cost optimization, and revenue growth
- Enterprise AI & Technology Transformation: Helping organizations build AI-first operating models, modernize technology organizations, accelerate engineering innovation, and unlock business value through digital transformation.
- Growth Strategy for Technology Companies: Advising technology service providers, software platforms, and hyperscalers on market expansion, go-to-market strategy, partnership ecosystems, AI-led offerings, and competitive positioning.
- Private Equity & M&A Advisory: Supporting investors and portfolio companies through technology due diligence, commercial diligence, post-merger integration, operating model transformation, and long-term value creation.
Combining research-led insights with execution capabilities, Zinnov helps organizations accelerate growth, unlock innovation, optimize technology investments, and build enduring competitive advantage. With a presence across North America, Europe, and Asia, the firm continues to advise many of the world’s leading enterprises on the future of business and technology. For more information, visit http://www.zinnov.com .
Source: PR Newswire
