Expat corporates prefer India over other nations
By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 05 January 2010, 22:03 IST   |    3 Comments
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Expat corporates prefer India over other nations
Bangalore: A resilient and growing economy, the promise of a good lifestyle and ease of settling in have made India the work destination of choice among corporate expats, reports Economic Times. David Wittenberg would rather have his children study at international schools in India than anywhere else. "The schools here are better than in my home country," says Wittenberg. He runs 'The Innovation Workgroup,' in New Delhi, a consultancy that teaches best practices of successful global corporations to Indian firms. Karl Slym, the Head of India operations at GM couldn't agree more. He thanks his good fortune that he was in India during recession, because even when his parent company in the U.S. filed for bankruptcy, the Indian operations survived and did well. "Coming to India was an opportunity to grow the GM brand in a place dominated by local brands and others who were here longer than us," he says. "This is clearly the place to be right now; and for the near future as well." For other top expat professionals, India represents a new hope, unmatched by any other country. For them, India is the place to be during any downturn, now or in future. In the U.S., unemployment rate hit 9.5 percent, the highest in nearly 26 years since the economy fell into recession in December 2007. In Australia, the number of job cuts is expected to be at 250,000 by the end of 2009. In contrast, Indian job losses were a blip on the radar. In fact, even mid-level executives are thanking their stars for being in India. Daniel Tannenbaum, Regional Director, sales and marketing at Accor India, says that the only lifestyle change for him has been traveling to locations closer home. "But even that is fine, compared to back home where I would have been lucky to just have any job." Even single people, who go out and party more, prefer India now. Valerie Rozycki, Head of strategic initiatives at mChek, says that the only way she was impacted was devaluation of the rupee. Her salary is in rupees, unlike some of her counterparts who earn in dollars in India, but her lifestyle has hardly been affected. Both top level and middle level executives have been here for a few years, and want to continue for a few more as they settle in, and are relieved that there is at least one country that seems equipped to brave economic storms. These expats have a wide range of cuisine at top restaurants, and party at trendy nightclubs, while their children have grown to love the neighbourhood.

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