KKR places bigger bet on India

NEW DELHI: Global investment giant KKR is placing a bigger bet on India by setting up a centre in Gurgaon that will deal with some operations and finance-related issues, parts of which are currently outsourced.
KKR, which has around 90 employees in Mumbai dealing with investments, will begin the operations in Gurgaon with around 150 employees. Going forward, it may deal with some of the technology-related aspects as well, KKR chief operating officer Ryan Stork told TOI.
Gurgaon's gain is, however, expected to come at some cost to Cognizant as the company is expected to significantly reduce its outsourcing contract in the coming years, after it opted for insourcing - something, Stork said, several companies are opting to do. "We opted for it as the firm is growing in size and scale," said Stork, adding that the centre was required to meet the enormous pace at which KKR was growing and the talent pool it needed to sustain the growth. Going forward, HR, compliance and legal functions may also be added to the portfolio.

Currently, a similar facility in Dublin with around 100 employees also handles some of the functions related to operations and finance along with the Euro credit room. "The scale is not the same," Stork said.
He said that KKR zeroed in on India, following its experience in the country and more specifically on Gurgaon, given the massive talent pool. The decision was taken after scanning other potential centres such as Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune, the KKR COO said. "The Gurugram-based team will support KKR's growth and enhance the firm's business operations, as well as allow for a global operating model that aims to deliver consistent service and coverage to internal and external clients across the world," the company said in a statement.