Publicis Sapient sees India as growth engine, not outsourcing hub: CEO Nigel Vaz

New Delhi: India has emerged as a critical hub in the global strategy of Publicis Sapient, with the digital business transformation company sharpening its focus on building products and AI-enabled teams out of the country. 

CEO Nigel Vaz says the company is “excited” about the addressable market here, while also drawing striking parallels between Artificial Intelligence and the superhero armour of Iron Man.

Vaz explained that AI, like Tony Stark’s powered suit, amplifies human ingenuity when combined with skills and creativity. “You effectively have to invest in your people and develop them, and you also have to build a suit for them. You put the suit and the person together, and you get Iron Man, this incredible superhero better than just technology by itself and better than just people by themselves,” he said.

For Vaz, the belief in technology’s power to transform is personal. As a child, he struggled with fine motor skills and found it difficult to write. Computers gave him the breakthrough. “From being unable to write to being able to type fluently meant I could express my ideas, and suddenly people realised this kid might have potential,” he recalled. 

The discovery reinforced his conviction that technology, when matched with human capability, can unlock extraordinary outcomes.

That belief is shaping Publicis Sapient’s future bets. The company is prioritising AI-enabled SPEED teams, its internal acronym for strategy, product, experience, engineering, data and AI, deployed to accelerate digital transformation for clients worldwide. 

India, Vaz emphasised, is not just a delivery centre but central to this approach. “We’ve always operated in India as part of our globally distributed delivery model, never as a typical outsourcing hub. Our leaders here work seamlessly across global teams, and we see India as an integral engine of growth,” he said.

Publicis Sapient currently has over 20,000 people across 72 offices worldwide. Vaz underlined that hiring in India is driven not by scale but by quality. “It’s not about adding headcount for the sake of it. It’s about finding the right sets of people who can accelerate what we’re trying to build, a people and product-led company,” he noted.

Looking ahead, Vaz expects digital business transformation budgets in 2026 to be “better and more significant” as companies reset priorities. “What remains to be seen is how the macroeconomic environment improves. We’ve seen pretty stubborn inflation in almost every market, even in the United States,” he cautioned.

The disruption AI brings to jobs is undeniable, Vaz admitted, but he believes the value created will far outweigh the displacement. “Technology has always disrupted jobs. Now AI is doing it at a faster pace, which puts a greater onus on us as leaders to invest in people and help them transition. But the opportunities are extraordinary,” he said, pointing to advances in healthcare, drug discovery, and education where AI is democratising access.

Vaz argued that the real promise of AI lies not in digitising processes but in reimagining businesses altogether, much like online banking once redefined finance. “Imagine asking your bank how to save for your child’s education and being advised through products contextualised to your needs. That’s the reimagination of business. AI takes us into another big shift, where we move from digital tools enabled by people to true machine intelligence,” he explained.

Optimistic yet realistic, Vaz summed up the moment, “There are going to be disruptions, but also huge opportunities. And I am extraordinarily excited about that.”