Deutsche Bank rewires GCC playbook to drive innovation, deeper integration

New India GCC CEO to push leadership, and AI roles

Deutsche Bank is restructuring and transforming its global capability centres (GCCs) into strategic hubs that drive innovation, leadership, and deeper integration with the bank’s core operations. The first major step in this direction is the appointment of Stefan Schaffer as chief executive officer of Deutsche India, the GCC of Deutsche Bank Group. 

Schaffer, who also serves as chief information officer for corporate functions and head of global technology (tech) centres at Deutsche Bank, has relocated to India for this transformation. 

“The bank’s vision is clear — to continue transforming these centres from cost-focused service hubs into strategic locations driving innovation and leadership. My experience in building tech centres and aligning them with global strategy positioned me well to lead this change. The goal is to integrate these centres more deeply into Deutsche Bank’s core operations and develop local leadership for global roles,” he told Business Standard in his first interaction since taking on this role. 

Schaffer sums up his mandate simply: shift the mindset from “we are serving Deutsche Bank” to “we are Deutsche Bank”. 

The German-headquartered bank has four tech centres globally — India (Pune and Bengaluru), Bucharest (European Union hub), Cary (US), and Berlin (formed after the closure of its Russia operations). The Indian tech centres employ over 8,500 people. 

Asked whether the bank intends to increase its India headcount, Schaffer says that while India remains a growth location, the era of aggressive hiring is over. “The volume of recruitment is behind us. We want to change the structure to empower employees across our centres,” he said. 

He points out that every GCC began as a service centre where repetitive work was shifted. “But that is not sustainable. If we don’t change, the value of the centre gets eroded. Having a centre in India is an asset, especially with the way tech is moving. You have access to a younger generation, and when you combine that, it is a huge asset. We cannot be world class if we don’t harness this talent base,” he said. 

Schaffer adds: “Our focus is structural change — empowering leaders to make decisions locally and accelerating succession planning with more local leadership. We are actively working with divisional leadership to move roles to India where feasible and ensure career paths align with global responsibilities.” 

At a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is the focus for every business, Schaffer believes the India centre will play a key role. “Our challenge is to create systems that allow good ideas — wherever they originate — to scale globally. India’s young, change-oriented workforce is a major asset. We want this location to be a driver of AI innovation for Deutsche Bank,” he said. 

While Deutsche Bank does not allocate tech or AI budgets by geography, India accounts for roughly a quarter of its workforce. “Our aim is to make this a location of Deutsche Bank that happens to be in India, contributing ideas and solutions at a global level,” he added. 

When asked if this also means a shift in the bank’s relationship with its systems integrator partners, he agrees. Over the years, the bank has reduced its dependence on third-party information technology vendors. Some of the Indian tech players Deutsche Bank works with include Infosys and Wipro. 

“Deutsche Bank has internalised a lot over the years. We were very dependent on external vendors, particularly in engineering. Now we rely more on internal teams to keep IP inside and maintain more independence,” he said. 

Asked whether AI will further reduce dependence on third-party service providers, Schaffer agrees the role of systems integrator players will change over time. “If AI brings a major increase in productivity, the question is who benefits from it? Them or us? They will need to rethink their business model to fit into AI. Maybe systems integrator roles will shift to consulting and value-added services,” he said. 

He adds that this doesn’t mean work will diminish. “With increased productivity, there may be a case for less work, but the world isn’t running out of problems. The relationship will evolve as both sides adapt to new realities.”