BT Big Story: Why India Inc is warming up to non-English-speaking executives

In high-stakes corporate leadership meetings, silence can sometimes be mistaken for a lack of ideas or confidence. Executive presence coach Vikram recalls working with a senior business leader who stayed quiet during strategy discussions — not because he lacked commercial insight, but because he was mentally translating his thoughts into English and trying to frame grammatically perfect sentences. By the time he was ready to speak, the conversation had moved on.

The coaching focused on shorter sentences, one clear point at a time and letting go of perfect syntax. Once he stopped worrying about linguistic perfection, colleagues began recognising the depth of his strategic thinking. As Vikram puts it: “People will forgive imperfect grammar. But they struggle to follow unclear thinking.”

Where English still matters

The role of English varies sharply by career stage and function. At the entry level, it remains an important filter in campus recruitment and initial screening.

Chetan Mangalwedhe, founder and CEO of executive search firm TalentiFi-X, says English is used more often to screen junior candidates than to assess whether they can actually perform the job.

Some employers, however, are beginning to rethink that approach. Kanan Bahl, founder of Fingrowth Media, hired a Tier-II candidate despite poor spoken English after an exceptional technical assessment. The employee was allowed to work with clients in regional languages and later became one of the company's strongest hires.

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At Deloitte India, Chief People and Experience Officer Deepti Sagar says hiring focuses on domain knowledge, learning agility, ambition, confidence and values rather than using English fluency as a proxy for competence. Professional English remains important for roles involving global clients, while Indian languages can be an advantage when dealing with local stakeholders.

The leadership barrier remains

The language question often becomes more pronounced as employees move into senior management.

Mangalwedhe says accent and polish matter less once employees demonstrate their capabilities, but English proficiency can become more important when they take on P&L responsibility, board interactions, investor discussions or CXO roles.

Toral Patel, managing partner at Accord Group India, makes a distinction between linguistic polish and strategic clarity. Accent, she says, should rarely matter. The bigger issue is whether a leader can explain complex strategic decisions, negotiate or communicate during a crisis.

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Talent is moving beyond metros

More than 60% of India's engineering graduates now come from Tier-II and Tier-III cities, according to NASSCOM data cited by Mangalwedhe. More than 220 GCC units are also located in these cities.

Business schools are seeing the shift too. TAPMI says around 10% of its incoming students come from vernacular-medium backgrounds, while IIM Calcutta uses voluntary bridge programmes and business communication courses.

AI-powered translation tools could further reduce language barriers. But experts caution that technology cannot replace the ability to persuade, build trust and make decisions in real time.

The emerging approach in Corporate India, therefore, is not to discard English, but to prevent it from becoming an informal gatekeeper for talent.

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