India is ‘having a moment’ in the global economy and LinkedIn is having a moment in India, Daniel Shapero, the company’s chief operating officer told ET in an exclusive interview. “Our engagement in terms of membership is up 19% year-on-year to over 110 million members now. Our revenue has grown nearly four times in the last five years (financial years 2017-22) in India. It’s such a dynamic economy right now. LinkedIn isn’t just growing in tier one cities in IT, but we are playing a much larger role in non-IT verticals and in tier two, tier three cities,” he said.
“In India, 70% of the new business growth for LinkedIn Talent Solutions comes from non-IT companies. Our role in India is expanding much wider and deeper than it has ever been in the past,” he added. Shapero said LinkedIn is being developed as an AI first product. “By virtue of being part of Microsoft, we have early visibility into some of the new AI generated technologies. So, our Recruiter 2024 product which is an updated version of our flagship Recruiter product leverages AI to make it easier for recruiters to write personalised messages to candidates,” he said.
“Another example is inspired by the opportunity to build an AI powered coach for learners. Imagine you are a manager going into a hard meeting with a team member and you need tips on delivering effective feedback based on the behaviour of that person. There are many other inputs that we are applying to our marketing and sales business, and we think that the opportunity to help companies hire and then develop their talent leveraging AI is really phenomenal,” he added.
Shapero said he hears conversations encompassing both optimism and concern around job losses linked to AI. “I think we are about to undergo one of the most substantial talent transformations in the history of the world based on AI,” he said.
“There will be roles that will be in even higher demand because of AI; roles for which companies will fight for. While on the other hand, there will be roles taken over by AI. But, the vast majority of roles will be roles where AI will unlock people’s ability to do their jobs at a different level,” he added.
He said executives in functions such as sales and marketing are already leveraging AI, and a whole swathe of roles across the economy will be AI powered. “The thing that’s important for companies and people to realize is that the difference between a creative sales person and a good sales person, or the difference between a good and a great recruiter will likely be how they leverage AI. It will become the defining skill for many of these disciplines,” he added.
By Anumeha Chaturvedi
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/epaper/delhicapital/2023/oct/04/et-comms/linkedins-india-revenue-up-4-fold-in-5-years-coo/articleshow/104141203.cms
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