This article explores the impact of globalization on executive leadership development. Today, few companies can afford not to think globally. Leaders of organizations, regardless of the organizations' size or background, must increasingly engage with the realities of doing business with partners beyond their local borders. All this has raised to a new significance, the manner and content of executive development and associated training programs. Besides a constellation of cultural forces, technology has added a critical dimension to this rethinking of executive development.

Friedman's (2007) "flat world" concept, which was mildly revolutionary when it first appeared, is now taken for granted by any but the most local or provincial business leader. Friedman's (2007) "flat world" concept, which was mildly revolutionary when it first appeared, is now taken for granted by all business leaders, except the local and provincial ones. The notion of a world without borders where global players may freely come and go, so long as they understand the rules of the game and have something meaningful to contribute, is part of the current business reality. The idea resonates with global business leaders who seek not only to improve their nations' market shares of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, but also wish to establish a firm and enduring presence in the global marketplace. Convergent market trends, including organizational horizontalization, technological progression, innovation, and entrepreneurship, have lessened the divides of separation and opened, as it were, the floodgates of business opportunity worldwide. Organizations that were once limited by geographical boundaries now cultivate business relationships, train, and recruit talent across continents. The global village is a thriving concept in contemporary business arrangements.

The emergence of burgeoning consumer and BPO markets in India, China, Indonesia, Brazil and European nations has made it expedient for companies to develop the core competencies of global leadership. The idea is to develop a cadre of leaders who are able to operate in a dynamic marketplace where key variables such as cultural sensitivity, shifting geopolitical arrangements, emotional intelligence, and the emerging significance of regions once thought to be invisible are redefining the very meaning of business. In the interest of building global capital and positioning themselves for the next leap forward in business terms, many companies are now partnering with academic, and a broad array of other independent organizations to establish and cultivate a variety of executive development programs that are designed to prepare organizational leaders to navigate the sometimes choppy waters of the global business sector. Whereas in the past functional business expertise was sufficient to gain promotion, all this changed with the professionalization of the business executive.

HRM Review Magazine, Leadership Development, Globalization, Business Leader, Business Process Outsourcing, BPO, Corporate Governance, Strategic Management, Knowledge Process Outsourcing, KPO, Indian Business Sector, Multinational Corporations, Global Internship Program.