PwC fused its India and US consulting arms into a $1.5B venture run from India (interview)
In an ET interview, PwC's US CEO Paul Griggs explains folding India operations into a single 40,000-person consulting venture, majority-run from India.
What was changed
In an exclusive interview with ET's Vinod Mahanta published on October 6, 2026, PwC US CEO Paul Griggs said the firm is combining its Indian consulting business with the US firm's India advisory operations, marking a shift toward India as an integrated part of PwC's global consulting business rather than a downstream delivery base. The planned joint venture will employ roughly 40,000 people under a single non-regulated consulting structure in India.
Griggs told ET the combination lets the firm invest more heavily in AI, technology, engineering and talent, calling the linking of two established markets 'a massive unlock'. Sanjeev Krishan, PwC India chairman, who will oversee the venture — in which PwC India holds 49.9% of the stock — said it would be 'almost a USD 1.5 billion business' on day one (self-reported in the interview), creating investment capacity even before synergies.
The structure also reworks how global work flows through India: Griggs said more global activity would be rooted in Indian talent across the full organisational stack, from partners and directors down, not concentrated at the lower end of the leverage pyramid. Krishan framed the ambition as moving from execution work into clients' strategic mindset, and taking the 'us and them' out of the global capability centre segment.
Why it worked
Inverts the classic offshore model: the venture is managed and run from India, with the Indian firm holding 49.9% and its chairman overseeing a major slice of global consulting growth.
Responds to a documented demand shift — clients want teams that combine industry expertise with technology, engineering, data and AI capability.
Day-one scale is real, not projected: both contributing businesses are already high-growth revenue earners.
What can be applied
Global services firms are dissolving the head-office-subsidiary pyramid: putting 40,000 people under one non-regulated roof turns a delivery cost centre into a growth engine.
Aftermath
Griggs said the deal heats up the Big Four race in India, with Deloitte pursuing an aggressive investment-led approach and EY a momentum play. Krishan said the venture gives Indian partners and teams a massive opportunity to contribute to global growth, with AI 'raising the floor' while people 'raise the ceiling'.