EP 13: From Krakow to Hyderabad: Inside Backbase’s Global Talent Strategy

[00:00:46] Adriaan: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast. Today, Rolando Jessurun, the VP of Talent Acquisition at Backbase, is my wonderful guest. We are here at their brand-new HQ in Amsterdam. Honestly, you’ll only see a fraction, but it’s absolutely gorgeous.

[00:01:06] Adriaan: And I know you had a big role in developing the new office as well, Rolando. But before we get into the actual interview, can you share a little more about your background—what you did before coming to Backbase and what you currently do there?

[00:01:18] Rolando: Yes, thank you, Adriaan. And welcome.

[00:01:20] Rolando: Thank you so much for having me on the podcast. Who am I? First of all—and I’m super proud of this—I’m a dad of a son and a daughter. My son’s name is Anthony and my daughter’s name is India.

[00:01:32] Adriaan: Yeah.

[00:01:33] Rolando: They’re the most important part of my life. My son turns 19 tomorrow, and I still have a little princess of 11 years—she’s my princess forever.

[00:01:42] Rolando: I have a technical background. I graduated from the Technical University in Delft in Building Engineering—so, based in architecture. Doing this project, this whole renovation, I thought, “Hey, I can do it.” Hell no—it was all new, but a great experience.

[00:01:59] Rolando: That’s basically my background. But when I graduated, IT was booming. My first opportunity was with a software company in the Netherlands. I started as a programmer—mainframe programming, Natural/Adabas, some Oracle development. But I guess I was a lousy engineer.

[00:02:19] Rolando: My boss came to me after two or three months and said, “Do you really like this? Maybe you’d rather sell our product.” So I landed in sales. That’s where I really started my professional journey—in account management and sales management roles for Dutch, American, and UK companies.

[00:02:39] Rolando: While doing that, I was constantly building teams—hiring people. I worked with a lot of agencies and recruiters. After a while, I thought, “I can do this,” and I liked it—having that interaction with people. So, years ago, I started in executive search at an agency.

[00:03:01] Rolando: I had my own company with a few partners. I did that for many years. Then, after around 12 years, I left the company and started doing… a little bit of nothing. It was around the time the first iPhone was released—the first smartphone. With a bunch of friends, we started a side project, creating apps to broadcast sports events.

[00:03:27] Rolando: But we did it more just for fun—we loved it. Around that time, some of my former connections at Microsoft approached me and invited me to join their Talent Acquisition team. And that’s what I did—for about 11 and a half years.

[00:03:43] Rolando: I gained a lot of experience in different countries. It was very international, really great. And now, fast forward to today—I’ve been with Backbase for a little over three years, leading the global talent acquisition organization.

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[00:04:35] Adriaan: Can you give me a little bit of context about the science at Backbase, your growth, and what Backbase actually does?

[00:04:39] Rolando: Yeah. Over the last three years, we’ve been in growth mode. We went super fast—from about 800 people to 2,300. Wow. Back then, we had a lot of flexible scale—nearshore people—because it was very difficult to find talent.

[00:05:00] Rolando: Today, I’d say only about 10% is in that flexible layer. We’ve really built a robust in-house engineering community.

[00:05:10] Adriaan: Fascinating. Before recording this podcast, we spoke a bit about your experience. One topic that really stood out was your work at Microsoft and especially at Backbase—helping open and grow business development centers in India and Poland.

[00:05:30] Adriaan: Can you share more about that—what it entails, and what made Backbase consider setting up these centers?

[00:05:36] Rolando: That’s a good question. First of all, Backbase made the decision to go to two different countries for scale before I joined.

[00:05:48] Rolando: But even then, there was the challenge: How do we attract people? How do we move fast? If you think about Amsterdam—the engineering market here is super tense. The war on talent is huge.

[00:06:00] Rolando: It’s enormous. So, yes, you can get high-quality candidates and we do have them—but if you want to scale and go fast, you have to look at where in the world the bigger addressable markets are.

[00:06:10] Rolando: If you look at universities and how many people graduate in different countries in Europe, Poland is a very interesting market for software engineering companies. There’s real opportunity to scale. That’s also why we built the other BDC—business development center—in Hyderabad, India.

[00:06:33] Rolando: It’s a huge market, but it’s also a very competitive one. I still remember—when you apply here at Backbase, you have to go through different rounds. You have to “graduate” in your interview process with a case.

[00:06:49] Rolando: My case was a real-life scenario: they told me, “We’ve decided to go to Krakow and Hyderabad, but it’s still difficult to grow fast. How would you attract the right talent to Backbase when no one knows us there?” That’s the muscle we’ve been focusing on building—the reputation needed to grow even faster than we could at home.

[00:07:10] Rolando: You do this from a growth perspective.

[00:07:18] Adriaan: So let’s get into the nuances of that a bit more, right? What did you do? What was your case study that helped you get the job, and how did you actually accelerate that growth?

[00:07:29] Rolando: I was educated at Microsoft, actually. That’s where the credit goes—it’s a Microsoft win. It’s about being data-driven. Using the right tools to truly understand: How many people are there? What skill sets do they have? Where are they located? What motivates them? Who is the competition?

[00:07:44] Rolando: If I want to enter a country, how do I position the company? And I don’t just mean branding, but also identity and culture. How do you reward people? If you know these things up front—if you do your homework—that becomes almost a formula for success when launching in a new location.

[00:08:10] Adriaan: So, how big are both centers now, roughly?

[00:08:13] Rolando: Krakow, we built from zero to 300-something, and Hyderabad from zero to 700-something.

[00:08:21] Adriaan: Wow. So in a span of three years, basically?

[00:08:23] Rolando: I would say four years, right? Because they started a year before with just a handful of people, and then we really accelerated.

[00:08:28] Adriaan: Yeah.

[00:08:29] Rolando: I’m happy to share that Hyderabad is now becoming our number one location in terms of headcount.

[00:08:35] Adriaan: So, Krakow and Hyderabad—why both at the same time? Why not start with just one? What was the rationale?

[00:08:46] Rolando: The rationale was that we are a global company. We have customers all over the world, and we want our own product engineers—our frontline people—as close as possible to our customers.

[00:08:59] Rolando: Strategically, Krakow supports Europe well, and Hyderabad is perfect for APAC. We also started an initiative in Mexico.

[00:09:10] Adriaan: Oh, interesting—for the Americas?

[00:09:11] Rolando: Yeah.

[00:09:12] Adriaan: And that’s still ongoing?

[00:09:15] Rolando: Yeah, though it’s not as massive as the others, it’s definitely one of our locations.

[00:09:18] Adriaan: Tell me more about the transition—growing those hubs. Now, with Hyderabad becoming the number one talent center, how did you build up your teams at HQ, in India, and in Krakow? Has that shift changed where you now hire which types of roles?

[00:09:38] Rolando: Yes. Yes. Yes—and yes. It’s a slightly different approach. So first, let me explain: here in Amsterdam, this is our HQ, what we call a hub. But we have more hubs—Madrid, Cardiff, London, Atlanta, Toronto.

[00:10:01] Rolando: These are places where we hire for unique roles—no scale. It’s more like a headhunt approach, very much focused on subject matter experts for each region. But when growing fast in the BDCs, it’s a different strategy.

[00:10:24] Rolando: If you go to Hyderabad, no one knows the brand. And in the Indian market, the label matters. If you say you work for Microsoft or IBM—everyone gets it. But if you have to explain who your employer is, it’s a tougher sell.

[00:10:43] Rolando: So, you can spend a lot on marketing—LinkedIn campaigns, employer branding. I could spend a million, and that would be a huge chunk of my budget. But companies like Salesforce or Microsoft are spending tens of millions. So, my impact would be minimal.

[00:11:05] Rolando: So, we decided to do it differently. We created a team where all the individual recruiters became a brand themselves.

[00:11:11] Rolando: I have recruiters who are subject matter experts in the Hyderabad market—for backend engineers, mobile engineering, project management, and so on. People want to talk to them. They bring a pool of talent to Backbase, and in doing so, they build their own expertise.

[00:11:29] Rolando: This is the external-facing effort. But we also needed to manage internal stakeholders. What you often see in talent acquisition is that we can select people, but the business still wants to see resumes, raise questions, and delay decisions.

[00:11:56] Rolando: By making recruiters subject matter experts internally as well, we created trust. We called it QAI: Qualified, Available, and Interested. If a recruiter presents a list stamped QAI, the hiring team’s only job is to look at their calendars and schedule interviews—not to debate the selection.

[00:12:17] Rolando: This significantly accelerated our internal processes. That QAI “muscle”—with recruiters developing niche expertise—helped us go super fast. It’s very different from how we operate in Amsterdam.

[00:12:32] Rolando: In the beginning, it was a challenge. Recruiters were unsure—“Will I get bored recruiting backend engineers every day?” But now, they’ve become true experts. And we rotate them from time to time to keep it fresh.

[00:13:06] Adriaan: In terms of internal culture building—when opening a new office in a region where your brand is unknown—did you relocate people from HQ to India or Krakow? Or did you hire local leaders? How did you ensure that Backbase culture carried over?

[00:13:25] Rolando: That’s a key question. We do have people from HQ who relocate to new locations for a period of time. But in Krakow and Hyderabad, we didn’t do that.

[00:13:35] Rolando: Instead, we hired local leadership first, but invited them here to HQ. Our leaders also travel back and forth to maintain alignment. So yes, we ensured cultural transfer, but without full-time relocations in these cases.

[00:14:01] Rolando: We did relocate people in other cases—for example, in the U.S., when we started on the sales and product side, some colleagues spent months on-site to establish their teams. So, we do that when needed.

[00:14:16] Rolando: But I understand why you’re asking. In these development centers, we’re focused more on capability and capacity—building our engineering side—less on customer engagement. It’s a different kind of setup.

[00:14:39] Rolando: That said, thinking back—I might have done things differently. Backbase has grown to over 2,000 people. Do we want to grow even larger in headcount? Not necessarily. We want to grow our market share instead.

[00:14:59] Rolando: If I were to do it again, I’d focus more on the culture element from the beginning. Culture eats strategy for breakfast. I’d make that more central to the rollout.

[00:15:18] Adriaan: Looking back, would you have people from Amsterdam or other offices be present locally to bring the culture with them, or have senior leadership spend significant time with local teams—or maybe something in between?

[00:15:36] Rolando: I think you have to do both.

[00:15:40] Adriaan: Yeah.

[00:15:41] Rolando: Yeah, both are important.

[00:15:41] Adriaan: So, speaking of alignment—having Krakow and Hyderabad support global functions—how does that work in practice? What’s gone well, and what’s been more challenging?

[00:15:56] Rolando: One of our success factors is that we’re very entrepreneurial. We almost recreate silos. Now, silos can be negative, but in our case, they create accountability.

[00:16:00] Rolando: We develop, we sell, we implement. Those are the three core streams of our business.

[00:16:16] Rolando: Each leader owns their business unit like it’s their own company. Very entrepreneurial. And that’s how we operate globally—they build their own teams.

[00:16:37] Rolando: The glue is our company values. We cascade these from top-down and bottom-up. We run the right programs and have clear communication about how we treat each other. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in Mexico, the U.S., Amsterdam, or Dubai—Backbase values apply everywhere.

[00:16:57] Rolando: We don’t adjust values per region. That consistency is our glue. And I always say—Backbase is not for everyone.

[00:17:10] Adriaan: Yeah.

[00:17:10] Rolando: It’s not for everyone, and that’s not our ambition. It’s a very specific culture—but one that has proven successful.

[00:17:19] Adriaan: Are there any nuances between Krakow and Hyderabad? Not just culture-wise, but in how the two business service centers operate?

[00:17:31] Rolando: Yes. From an acquisition perspective, Krakow is very similar to Amsterdam. These are smaller markets where people tend to stay longer with employers. It’s more traditional in that sense.

[00:17:53] Rolando: Hyderabad is different. It has a very vibrant and dynamic environment—both the positives and the challenges. If I needed to hire 50 backend engineers in Hyderabad this quarter, we’d contract 70—because we know 20 might not show up.

[00:18:17] Rolando: It can be frustrating, but you learn to work with it. It’s just how the market behaves. There’s so much competition there that you have to approach it differently. What we even do now is connect with candidates’ families—super important in that market. That sense of familyhood is something unique, compared to Krakow.

[00:18:37] Adriaan: That’s funny you say that. We’ve hired in India as well, and we found it incredibly difficult. There’s an abundance of talent, and we got a massive number of applicants for every job opening.

[00:18:51] Adriaan: But filtering through all of them was tough. On paper, many resumes looked great, but in reality, that wasn’t always the case. And we had multiple signed offers where people didn’t show up. It was puzzling until we learned—this is how the market works. Did you know that upfront?

[00:19:06] Adriaan: Or was it something you discovered along the way? Were the people you hired informing you of these nuances?

[00:19:12] Rolando: First of all, I had experienced it at Microsoft as well.

[00:19:16] Rolando: But also, our local recruitment team in Hyderabad—they know how to deal with the market. I really admire the work ethic in that region. And very often, I have to calm my team down and say, “Take a break over the weekend.”

[00:19:24] Rolando: Honestly, it’s more of a challenge to get them to stop. Like last weekend—they had hiring events scheduled, and they love it. They’d go for it. So, you really have to make them pause. Their work ethic is amazing.

[00:19:48] Adriaan: Great. Looking ahead—do you see these centers becoming the focal points for the majority of hiring? Or will it remain evenly distributed? How do you approach that from a workforce planning perspective?

[00:20:02] Rolando: I do believe Hyderabad will continue to grow. It’s a massive market with great talent, and it will remain a growth destination for us.

[00:20:15] Rolando: It’s not just a service center—it’s a development center. We’ve built engineering teams focused on customer implementation.

[00:20:31] Rolando: Over the last year and a half, we’ve built our product teams there too. We’re building our IP in those centers. So, they’re becoming more mature. From a career perspective, engineers have opportunities in both product and service tracks.

[00:20:47] Rolando: So yes—we’ll definitely continue investing and growing in Hyderabad and Krakow.

[00:20:55] Adriaan: When should companies start thinking about opening a new hub or entering a different market? What’s your experience with that?

[00:21:10] Rolando: There has to be a real need. If you’re in growth mode and struggling with talent shortages, that’s when you look abroad.

[00:21:15] Rolando: But you must do your homework. It’s not just about the addressable market—there are lots of locations with good talent.

[00:21:25] Rolando: You also have to look at what the universities are doing—especially in software engineering and tech. What does the next generation of talent look like?

[00:21:39] Rolando: Then there’s competition. For instance, in Hyderabad we’re growing fast, but not just because of organization. We’ve made deliberate decisions—like how we pay and reward people.

[00:21:49] Rolando: You need a compensation strategy. Your comp team can help with this. Where do you want to sit in the market’s salary stack? If you decide this early, you can predict how easy or difficult your growth journey will be.

[00:21:57] Adriaan: Yeah.

[00:21:58] Rolando: So, it’s often due to a lack of addressable talent near your main office that you look to new markets. Cost is also a factor.

[00:22:09] Adriaan: And you balance the two—talent and cost. That’s how you identify sweet spots. In your case, that’s Krakow and Hyderabad. Have you looked at any other markets that might be interesting for the future?

[00:22:22] Rolando: Oh yes, for sure. I’m constantly evaluating new locations.

[00:22:25] Rolando: But we’re not looking to open new BDCs just for the sake of it. Each one requires significant time and cash investment—branding, operations, infrastructure. So, we only proceed if we’re truly confident and prepared.

[00:22:50] Rolando: I believe we’ve only touched about 1–2% of Krakow’s potential. So, there’s still a long way to go.

[00:22:57] Adriaan: Great. And in terms of your team—how is your talent team structured, especially across those different locations?

[00:23:10] Rolando: So, my team includes Talent Acquisition, Office Management, and HRBI.

[00:23:13] Rolando: In Talent Acquisition, I have a leader for our APAC region—Pradeep. He’s a Director of Talent Acquisition and works closely with the business to understand demand. He’s a true strategic partner for our business leaders and is doing a fantastic job building and strengthening the QAI model at Backbase.

[00:23:48] Rolando: In the U.S., I have Catherine, based in Atlanta. That location is more of a hub for us—not massive in scale, but we have around 150 people focused on customer success, sales, and marketing.

[00:24:15] Rolando: And I have another director responsible for our sales, engineering, and executive search hiring across the organization. Each of them manages the pillars and their respective teams.

[00:24:15] Adriaan: Clear. For those looking to set up a development center, what are some practical tips based on your experience?

[00:24:26] Rolando: First, don’t go to Krakow or Hyderabad—you’ll be competing with us! (laughs)

[00:24:29] Rolando: But seriously—think about what you’re trying to solve. Is it a short-term capacity need, or do you want to build a long-term capability in your organization?

[00:24:47] Rolando: Do your research. Understand the addressable market, the required investment, and how the future pipeline of talent will evolve—especially in education and local university output.

[00:25:03] Rolando: And be ready to go all-in—respect the local culture, but ensure your own company culture is clear and strong from day one.

[00:25:21] Adriaan: Is there a tipping point between starting with a flexible setup and deciding to fully in-house operations?

[00:25:34] Rolando: Good question.

[00:25:35] Adriaan: At the beginning of our conversation, you mentioned Backbase started with a large flexible pool. Was that part of the decision-making process to shift more in-house?

[00:25:49] Rolando: Yes. When you start scaling, flexible capacity is useful. You can bring in vendors and scale up quickly, which helps you deliver for customers.

[00:26:01] Rolando: But it comes at a cost. And you’re not developing those people in-house because they’re not your employees.

[00:26:10] Rolando: That’s why we try to strike a balance. You need a tipping point—deciding what should be internal versus what remains flexible. I believe you always need some flexibility to adjust with the market and economy, but in-house capability is critical for long-term value.

[00:26:23] Adriaan: Yeah.

[00:26:34] Adriaan: Last but not least, you’ve developed these beautiful and fast-growing business development centers—what’s next for you?

[00:26:50] Rolando: What’s next? That’s the next wave, right? We’re not going to grow massively in headcount now. The focus is shifting to two things.

[00:26:56] Rolando: First is culture. How can we go all-in on the Backbase culture? Every company has a bottom 15% and a top 15% of performers.

[00:27:07] Rolando: If you want to play Champions League, you need to be fair—to people, to the organization—and you need to strengthen all dimensions, including culture.

[00:27:24] Rolando: The second thing—and I’m not sure which is more important—is technology. AI. I hate to say it—but it’s real.

[00:27:29] Rolando: It’s going to change our world, in a good way. It’s an add-on to what we’re doing. I’ve been attending two or three webinars a week, just to educate myself. It’s evolving super fast.

[00:27:42] Rolando: The key question is: how can we work smarter? How can we increase the impact of our current teams through smarter tools?

[00:27:50] Adriaan: Wow. That’s a topic for another podcast, Rolando. If people want to connect with you, what’s the best way?

[00:27:58] Rolando: LinkedIn. LinkedIn.

[00:28:00] Adriaan: Everyone’s welcome. Amazing. Rolando, thank you so much. I think we could’ve talked for much longer, but I still want to enjoy a coffee in your beautiful office.

[00:28:13] Adriaan: Thank you so much for watching and listening—and Rolando, thanks again for having us here.

[00:28:14] Rolando: Ciao.