Deutsche Bank has appointed Stefan Schaffer as the new Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche India, its global capability centre (GCC), following the exit of Dilipkumar Khandelwal, who recently stepped down to pursue a career in the startup sector.
In addition to leading Deutsche India, Schaffer will also assume the roles of Chief Information Officer (CIO) for corporate functions and Head of Technology Centres across the bank’s global operations.
India plays a vital role in Deutsche Bank’s global technology strategy, with key engineering hubs located in Bengaluru and Pune. Other major centres are based in Bucharest, Berlin, and Cary in the United States. The bank employs 23,000 people in India, including 8,000 engineering professionals.
Schaffer has been with the bank since 2020 and has held several senior leadership positions. Most recently, he served as Managing Director and Head of Shared Applications and Services. As per the bank’s official statement, “His initiatives focused on reuse strategies and the development of shared capabilities aligned with the bank’s engineering and architecture manifesto—driving simplification and standardisation across the enterprise.”
His earlier roles include central CIO for private banking and head of the technology centre in Bucharest. The bank described his leadership background as extensive and diverse: “With a distinguished global career spanning enterprise technology, start-up innovation, and management consulting, Stefan brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of diverse business cultures and complex operational environments.”
The appointment comes as Deutsche Bank reinforces its commitment to India and its growing network of GCCs. According to industry body Nasscom, India currently hosts over 1,760 GCCs employing 1.9 million people, with projections indicating that the number will grow to 2,200 centres employing up to 2.8 million individuals by 2029.
Government initiatives are also playing a role in supporting this growth. A recent report highlighted that the Ministry of Electronics and IT has set up an industry-led panel to create a national framework to support the expansion of GCCs in India—an effort announced in the federal budget.
Collectively, GCCs contribute significantly to India’s tech economy, generating revenues of $64.6 billion, nearly one-fourth of the country’s $280-billion IT services sector. This figure is expected to grow to $100 billion by 2030.
The promotion of Schaffer reflects a broader industry trend of nurturing leadership from within and enhancing operational capabilities in India, a key hub for global enterprise technology.
