When in Rome, hire a Roman to head your local operations. That seems to the dictum for successful Indian BPOs in the West, who are hiring foreign talent to head their operations there.

Last month alone, top BPO players like Genpact, WNS Global Services and EXL Service have created new roles in their organisations, to be managed by business leaders based in the US. The non-Indian recruits bring with them experience from top multinational companies and effective networking abroad. The US contributes 60% of the outsourcing industry?s revenues and it is becoming critical to manage this share due to political sensitivities and increasing competition in the region.

Two weeks back, Genpact recruited Scott McConnell to head its US operations. Earlier, Genpact?s vertical heads for mortgage or healthcare based in the US used to report to global in India. According to the new structure, a US-based member of the leadership team will exclusively manage operations there.

?We have always focused on hiring locals in the US and are now concentrating on recruiting business leaders to climb the ladder. We have customers in the US and proximity to them is very important. Thus, a leadership team with a local presence is mandatory,? says Piyush Mehta, HR head, Genpact.

Last month, Genpact also hired Danford Smith as senior vice-president & business leader for software services and global sales leader. Smith will be based in Boston. Earlier, these operations were supervised from India. ? Genpact is looking to strategically shift the ?centre of gravity? of some of our leadership to where our customers are, by having business leaders based in some of our key markets,? clarified Mehta from Genpact. The company employs 2,000 professionals in the US.

Says Sid Pai, managing director, TPI India: ? Just having commissioned sales people in the US is not enough for Indian providers. Issues of protectionism and political sensitivities along with increasing local presence in US are compelling these companies to hire leadership teams in the American region.?

In September, WNS Global Services, India?s second-largest pure-play BPO hired Ronald Strout as chief of staff and head, Americas, who will represent the group CEO?s office in the Americas. Until now, WNS had no designated person to head the American region and officials there used to report to India. Says Keshav R Murugesh, group CEO, WNS Global Services: ?Close to 60% of our revenues have traditionally come from Europe and we are investing significantly in sales, client partners and domain specialism in North America. The head of Americas? mandate is to ensure that the unique experience we have provided clients in Europe is also replicated in North America to drive our growth.

Ron Strout will accelerate WNS?s renewed focus on client interactions, leadership development, creation of new offerings, market penetration of new services and driving strategic initiatives.?

EXL Service too made a top management pick in the US, creating a new post of executive vice-president, global client services . The company named Bill Bloom to the post, to be based in the US. Says Rohit Kapoor, CEO, EXL service: ?Bill?s inclusion in the top management team will be instrumental in accelerating future growth in our core areas of competence and providing executive leadership to allow engagement with our clients at a strategic level. With Bill?s proficiency, we would like to further reinforce our client relations.?

Interestingly, all these new recruits left multinationals to join Indian BPOs, signifying the changing perception of Indian companies in the US. McConnell joins Genpact from Xchanging where he was head of sales for the Americas. He was also a partner with Ernst & Young and held leadership positions at EDS and IBM. Bill Bloom worked with Travelers and Accenture before joining EXL. WNS hired Strout from Bearing Point, which he joined from KPMG Consulting.

Saugata Sengupta, consultant, Tholons sums it up: ?Hiring ?high network individuals? is a move that can significantly change the marketing/operational activities for Indian IT/BPO companies in client regions like the US and Europe. This move not just provides a senior management professional to enhance operations with improved understanding of client markets but also an excellent opportunity of new client acquisition.?