Ganesh Rao has joined Zurich Insurance GCC in Hyderabad as Chief Operating Officer, taking on a senior leadership role focused on supporting the growth, transformation and evolution of Zurich’s India Global Capability Centre (GCC). Rao announced the move on LinkedIn, describing it as a new journey with Zurich and an opportunity to contribute to the organisation’s growth and strengthen its India GCC as a strategic partner to the global business.
In his new role, Rao will be responsible for a broad range of enterprise and operational functions. His mandate includes GCC strategy, operations, finance, site management, vendor governance, risk and compliance, procurement and related administrative functions. The role brings together his experience across global business services, shared services, finance, operations, transformation, governance and capability-centre leadership.
Rao brings nearly three decades of professional experience across global delivery, finance, shared services, business operations and transformation. Before joining Zurich Insurance, he served at Principal Financial Group as Head of Shared Services and Chief Administrative Officer. He held the position from April 2024 to April 2026, leading global delivery and operations for enterprise corporate functions across areas including financial services, compliance, sourcing, actuarial services, internal audit and risk consulting, marketing, UI/UX and other shared services.
As Chief Administrative Officer at Principal Financial Group, Rao also oversaw business continuity across Pune, Hyderabad and Manila, along with workforce analytics, partner enablement and engagement with the wider GCC ecosystem. This experience gave him exposure to managing operations across multiple locations and supporting the broader development of global capability operations.
Prior to Principal Financial Group, Rao spent more than three years with Allianz Services as Head of Global Delivery for Group Corporate Functions. In that role, he was responsible for strategy, operations, innovation and service delivery across functions including finance operations, HR operations and compliance support. He was also part of the India Management Board and the combined management structure across Allianz Technology and Allianz Services in India, where he contributed to areas including growth, talent, automation, customer management and operational strategy.
Rao earlier spent more than seven years with CMA CGM Global Business Services (India), where he served as Chief Financial Officer and Director – Finance & Accounting. His responsibilities covered a global finance portfolio spanning 25 legal entities across Asia, the Americas and Europe, with teams located across Chennai, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo and Mumbai. He was also involved in establishing and scaling finance operations across multiple locations and later took on the CFO role for CMA CGM in Indonesia.
Before CMA CGM, Rao worked with A.P. Moller – Maersk from 2008 to 2013, where he served as an AGM and site execution lead. His responsibilities included order-to-cash service delivery, expanding the scope of operations and SAP deployment across more than 100 countries. Earlier in his career, he worked as an FP&A Manager at HP, supporting worldwide financial planning, closing, reporting and budgeting across multiple delivery locations. His earlier experience also included corporate finance, accounting operations and banking operations.
Rao has also pursued executive education in areas related to management, finance and digital transformation. His qualifications include the Leading Digital Transformation programme from IIM Bangalore, completed in 2026, a Senior Leaders Programme in General Management from IIM Ahmedabad, an Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting from CIMA and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management in Finance from Loyola Institute of Business Administration.
At Zurich Insurance GCC, Rao’s responsibilities place him at the centre of the India GCC’s operational and strategic agenda. His focus on GCC strategy, finance, operations, risk, procurement, vendor governance and site management gives the role a broad enterprise mandate beyond conventional operational management. It also aligns with the increasing role of India-based GCCs in supporting global businesses through strategic capabilities, technology, transformation and specialised services.
Zurich Insurance has an established presence in India’s GCC ecosystem. Zurich’s Hyderabad capability centre has been represented at industry forums focused on the evolution of GCCs and their role in strategic transformation. In July 2026, Amit Kalra was listed as Global Head – Zurich Capability Centers at the GCC X Hyderabad event, where discussions focused on how GCCs are evolving into strategic transformation hubs.
Rao’s move to Zurich therefore marks a transition from leadership roles across global business services and shared-service organisations into a COO mandate within the insurance group’s Hyderabad GCC. His experience across finance, administration, global delivery, transformation, risk, governance and multi-location operations is closely aligned with the broad responsibilities of his new position.
Announcing his move, Rao said he is “excited to embark on this new journey with Zurich” and looks forward to contributing to the organisation’s growth, transformation and evolution of its India GCC as a strategic partner to the global business. His appointment adds experienced operational and global-services leadership to Zurich Insurance GCC as the organisation continues to develop its India operations.
