Branding Global Business Services in the Gen AI Era

In this episode of the “Gen AI Breakthrough” podcast, host Penny Weller speaks with Opella’s Karan R Bhatia about the critical role of branding for Global Business Services (GBS) hubs in a world increasingly influenced by Gen AI. Tune in to get answers to strategic questions like – Why is it beneficial for a company to have a reputation as a GBS hub? How can Gen AI be an enabler for companies in this quest? What are good ways to measure success and return on investment?

Welcome to The Hackett Group’s “Gen AI Breakthrough” podcast, where top experts give actionable artificial intelligence (AI) insights, expert advice and strategies to achieve breakthrough business performance. In this episode, host Penny Weller is joined by Karan Bhatia, head of the Global Business Services Hub located in Kuala Lumpur for Opella. They discuss how reputation and localized branding strategies can differentiate a global business services (GBS) center in competitive regions with established infrastructure and skilled talent.

To begin, Karan emphasizes that GBS centers should not attempt to recreate their company’s global branding but rather build upon it, localizing and customizing it to reflect their unique value in specific markets. He explains that reputation and perception are essential, particularly since GBS hubs are often situated in countries different from their organization’s key commercial markets. These locations, such as Malaysia, are chosen for their established infrastructure, multilingual talent pools, and government incentives – factors that significantly contribute to a hub’s success. Therefore, it becomes critical for GBS hubs to actively shape and promote a localized brand identity that differentiates them within these competitive ecosystems.

The conversation transitions into how generative AI (Gen AI) can support the branding and positioning of GBS organizations. Karan explains that AI should be treated like a new team member – one that requires onboarding into company guidelines, goals and messaging to be effective. Gen AI democratizes access to strategic tools and content creation, enabling even newcomers to the branding process to generate professional strategies or presentation materials. However, he warns that as access to information becomes universal, creativity and sound judgment become key differentiators in standing out. Karan likens Gen AI prompting to traditional advertising briefs: the clearer the input, the better the output. To effectively embrace Gen AI, leaders must overcome anxiety, align AI with brand authenticity, collaborate thoughtfully and apply proper governance. This ensures AI is not only a powerful enabler but also a compliant and brand-consistent partner in building a strong, differentiated employer brand.

Delving into each stakeholder group, Karan explains that employee perception is a powerful indicator of internal brand health. He advises including open-ended questions in employee engagement surveys to understand views on peer relationships, career development, well-being, leadership accessibility and goal setting. With only 60% of companies achieving a 75% participation rate or higher, maximizing employee input is key to forming an authentic internal brand identity. For partners – which include vendors, business associates and even future talent – Karan advocates for regular, personal engagement to supplement data from surveys. He stresses the importance of tracking click-through rates and job application completions in employer branding campaigns, aligning these with traditional GBS key performance indicators such as time-to-hire, time-to-fill, and retention to evaluate impact holistically.

Finally, Karan redefines competitors as sources of inspiration rather than threats. He recommends identifying two or three high-performing GBS organizations to benchmark against, using brand audit techniques from marketing such as share of voice and comparative campaign analysis. This competitive insight helps GBS leaders understand market positioning and spot opportunities to differentiate. Karan concludes by sharing his own career journey – from procurement and digital transformation roles to building and leading the GBS hub in Kuala Lumpur. His story highlights the multidisciplinary experience that shapes successful GBS leadership and reinforces the value of integrating branding with operational excellence.

Time stamps:

0:12 – Welcome to this episode hosted by Penny Weller.

1:19 – Why branding matters for GBS hubs.

4:36 – Understanding infrastructure and community.

8:55 – Strategizing branding prompts and leveraging AI effectively.

14:36 – Measuring the value of Gen AI in branding.

18:14 – Engaging partners and monitoring talent impact.

20:45 – Benchmarking against competitors and Karan’s journey.