Offshore teams are no longer just a tool for cutting costs – they are the key to scaling innovation globally.

Few have reimagined this model as effectively as Ashish Khanna, Senior Managing Director of Security Professional Services at Verizon. Over the past decade, Ashish has transformed Verizon’s offshore operations into Centers of Excellence (CoEs) – dynamic hubs that drive innovation, enhance delivery, and unlock growth potential far beyond labor arbitrage.

With a career that began in Accenture’s offshore team in India, Ashish’s firsthand experience gives him a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities offshore teams face.

His approach?

Treat them as strategic assets – empowering teams, fostering autonomy, and ensuring they play a vital role in Verizon’s global footprint.

But how can you replicate this transformation?

In this article, we’ll break down Ashish’s step-by-step roadmap for turning offshore teams into Centers of Excellence. From defining clear objectives to building empowered, autonomous teams, we’ll provide actionable insights drawn from Ashish’s leadership playbook – designed to help you unlock the full potential of your global talent.

Redefining Offshore Teams – From Cost-Cutters to Innovation Hubs

Offshore teams are synonymous with cost-cutting and operational efficiency – a convenient way to lower overhead while delivering essential services.

But for Ashish, this narrow view overlooks the immense potential these teams hold.

In fact, he doesn’t refer to offshore units as “offshore” at all…

Instead, he calls them “Centers of Excellence” – reflecting their role as growth engines, innovation hubs, and critical enablers of global scale.

“I don’t call them offshore teams. I always call them centers of excellence. It’s not just about reducing costs. These centers drive innovation, enhance our thought processes, and help us scale faster to meet client needs.” – Ashish Khanna

Ashish believes CoEs serve two critical purposes:

• Scaling Delivery – CoEs enable Verizon to meet growing client demands quickly and efficiently.
• Fostering Innovation – These centers provide a platform for new ideas, bringing diverse perspectives and fresh thinking to complex challenges.

This shift doesn’t just cut costs – it fuels competitive advantage by embedding innovation directly into the global delivery model.

Take Verizon’s Manila Center of Excellence. Originally launched as a regional hub, it has evolved into a cybersecurity innovation leader that engages directly with customers and shapes global strategy.

Why does this work? Ashish views CoEs as:

• Strategic pillars for global growth.
• Sources of thought diversity that unlock new ways of solving problems.
• Engines for transformation – driving business value far beyond traditional offshore models.

By repositioning offshore teams as active contributors to growth and strategy, Ashish has helped Verizon tap into broader talent pools, scale faster, and stay ahead of client demands.

Step 1: Define Clear Objectives and Competencies from Day One

A CoE is only as strong as the clarity of its purpose.

For Ashish, the foundation for success lies in defining clear objectives and competencies from the outset. Without a well-articulated goal, offshore teams risk becoming fragmented, unfocused, and underutilized.

When Verizon launched its Manila Center of Excellence, the mission was clear:

• Drive operational efficiency.
• Expand Verizon’s global footprint.
• Fuel innovation and customer growth.

By pinpointing these goals early, Ashish ensured that every decision – from leadership selection to daily operations – aligned with the center’s overarching purpose.

Competency focus plays an equally critical role. Rather than stretching teams thin across multiple functions, Ashish advocates for concentrating on core strengths.

For the Manila CoE, this meant honing in on cybersecurity – an area where regional talent excelled and where Verizon needed to scale globally.

By defining what the center is built to deliver, Ashish prevented operational drift and ensured that the CoE became a specialized driver of business value. This focus-first approach allows Verizon to deliver high-impact results, while ensuring teams stay motivated and aligned with broader company objectives.

Step 2: Building the Right Team and Leadership Structure

No CoE can succeed without strong, adaptable leadership.

According to Ashish, the success of a CoE hinges on leaders who can bridge the gap between global strategy and local culture.

“Successful leaders adapt to the local fabric.”

Forcing headquarters’ norms onto regional teams is simply a recipe for disengagement.

Instead, leadership must be selected—or trained—to understand the unique dynamics of the region where the CoE operates.

This means identifying leaders who can navigate the local:

• Customs
• Hierarchies
• Working styles

All while staying grounded in the company’s broader mission.

When Verizon established its Manila CoE, Ashish knew that a deep understanding of the local workforce was essential. By appointing leaders who respected regional preferences – such as hierarchical structures and communication styles – he created an environment where employees felt valued and empowered to contribute.

But leadership is just one piece of the puzzle.

Building a CoE also requires assembling diverse, high-performing teams.

Ashish believes that a mix of technical, strategic, and creative talent creates the best results. Diverse teams challenge assumptions, spark innovation, and drive better solutions for clients.

"You can’t impose HQ culture on CoEs…leaders need to blend into local practices and integrate seamlessly.”

The takeaway?

Leadership alignment and cultural sensitivity aren’t just nice to have – they’re non-negotiables when building CoEs that thrive globally while respecting local realities.

Step 3: Fostering Empowerment and Autonomy

Empowered teams move faster, innovate more, and stay engaged. This principle is at the heart of every successful CoE.

Ashish firmly believes that regional teams must own their decisions.

By shifting decision-making authority closer to the ground, CoEs can respond more quickly to client needs and operate with greater confidence. This level of autonomy allows teams to manage their own P&Ls, set priorities, and tailor solutions to local challenges – all while staying aligned with global objectives.

“Those centers should be well-empowered to make decisions and drive their own P&Ls.”

At Verizon, fostering autonomy also means removing unnecessary bottlenecks.

Ashish has worked to eliminate the need for teams to constantly seek approval from supervisors for routine decisions. Instead, he encourages leaders to trust their teams to act independently – a move that not only accelerates outcomes but also builds stronger leadership pipelines within the CoE.

Step 4: Creating a Collaborative and Unified Environment

A CoE cannot operate in isolation.

To maximize its potential, seamless collaboration between the CoE, headquarters, and other departments is essential. Creating this environment is not just a goal – it’s a cornerstone of long-term success.

Ashish believes the most effective CoEs don’t feel like remote outposts.

Instead, they function as extensions of the broader organization, deeply embedded in the company’s culture and operational framework.

Ashish uses a method he calls “slaying the dragon” to foster alignment.

By exposing CoE teams to client-facing scenarios – the same high-stakes environments that HQ teams handle – employees develop:

• Greater empathy for the customer experience.
• A stronger sense of accountability.
• A clearer understanding of how their work impacts overall client success.

This direct exposure bridges gaps between CoEs and front-line teams, reinforcing the idea that everyone works toward the same objectives.

Fostering Cross-Department Collaboration

Creating a unified environment isn’t limited to CoE-HQ interactions. Ashish highlights the importance of cross-department collaboration to ensure CoEs engage with teams like:

• HR – to streamline regional hiring and onboarding.
• IT – to align technology and infrastructure across locations.
• Legal – to ensure regulatory and compliance frameworks are embedded into processes.

Why does this matter?

• It prevents silos and ensures shared accountability across the organization.
• Cross-department collaboration broadens the CoE’s influence, allowing it to drive innovation and growth beyond its core functions.

By fostering collaboration across the organization, CoEs evolve into fully integrated parts of the business, contributing to sustained growth and operational success.

In Summary

By focusing on clear objectives, empowered leadership, and collaborative environments, Ashish has demonstrated how CoEs can become strategic assets that shape the future of consulting at Verizon Business.

The success of this model speaks for itself.

Verizon’s CoEs not only deliver at scale, but consistently foster innovation and maintain high retention rates – with many employees staying for over 15 years.

Ashish attributes this longevity to a culture of empowerment, autonomy, and inclusion that makes teams feel deeply connected to the company’s vision.

For consulting leaders, the message is clear: Offshore teams can be more than cost-cutting solutions. With the right strategy, they can evolve into powerhouses of innovation and long-term value – positioning the business to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Step-by-Step Checklist: Transforming Offshore Teams into Centers of Excellence

• Define clear objectives and competencies that align with the company’s broader strategy from the start.
• Focus on core strengths and build Centers of Excellence around specific, high-value capabilities.
• Appoint local leaders who understand regional culture and can adapt global strategies to fit local needs.
• Empower Centers of Excellence to make decisions and manage their own P&Ls to foster accountability and agility.
• Eliminate unnecessary approvals by trusting teams to handle operations independently.
• Foster collaboration across departments to integrate Centers of Excellence with HR, IT, legal, and other functions.