Send us a text Bruce Talley is an American entrepreneur and frontier market strategist who has spent decades operating in opaque, rapidly changing environments from Russia’s Black Sea coast to Brazil and now Ukraine. He built the largest destination services company at the Sochi Olympics, navigated direct FSB scrutiny, and today is helping global investors access deeply discounted Ukrainian residential markets through the Ukraine Prime Property Fund. In this episode, Bruce shares hard earned ...
Send us a text Victor Abou Rahal is a veteran digital transformation and tech leader in the GCC, with more than 25 years helping traditional industries go digital. He is now CEO of Narovate, a Saudi based startup focused on digital water solutions, after leading Boxit For Me through a successful exit and building the digital arm at ADNOC Distribution. In this conversation, Victor shares what he has learned about leadership, exits, and entrepreneurship across oil and gas, logistics, and now wa...
Send us a text Kevin Carter is the founder of EMQQ Global and a leading voice in emerging markets investing. In his first appearance, he broke down the investment case for digital consumption in emerging markets. In this follow-up episode, Kevin returns fresh from a month-long trip to India, where he went beyond the usual business hubs to explore tier 2 and tier 3 cities, the infrastructure transformation, and why India might be the most compelling EM story of the next two decades. In this ep...
Send us a text Djasur Djumaev, Founder and CEO, and Nikolay Seleznev, Co-founder and Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer of Uzum, Uzbekistan’s first tech unicorn, joined us for this episode. Uzum became a unicorn in just two years, and now serves as the country’s leading e-commerce and fintech ecosystem. In this episode, they share how they built a household name in a largely offline market, their strategy for leapfrogging infrastructure gaps, and why Uzbekistan is one of the most...
Send us a text Jan Riehle is the CEO of B4A, a leading Brazilian beauty marketplace with over 700,000 active users. An INSEAD ’09D, Jan began his career in M&A and private equity in Switzerland before joining Springstar, a German-Swiss venture builder, to manage their Brazil operations. In this episode we cover: How he acquired and merged two struggling beauty companies (Glambox and Men’s Market) into what is now B4A (00:00:24; 00:05:28) His approach to restructuring and achiev...
Send us a text In this episode, I speak with Amr Habis, a transformational leader with expertise in engineering, project management, and business strategy, who has played a key role in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. With experience spanning organizations like Aramco, OEM Group, and the Saudi National Guard, Amr provides deep insights into Saudi’s economic shift, infrastructure boom, and cultural transformation. We discuss: Amr’s career journey – from engineering and construction to oil & gas...
Send us a text In this episode, we are joined by Waleed AlBanawi, an INSEAD 05D, Executive Chairman & CEO of Banvest Group, and former chairman of Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) MENA. Waleed has deep experience in traditional industries, venture capital, and regional economic transformation. We discuss: His father’s entrepreneurial journey – pioneering industrial business in Saudi Arabia before the oil boom, securing funding when banks wouldn’t lend to industry, and overcoming regul...
Send us a text Zaid Mosawy, an INSEAD 10D, joined us to discuss his experience as a key figure behind the delivery of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. We explore how his background in civil engineering, experience with the London Olympics, and INSEAD MBA positioned him to lead one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the region’s history. Zaid shares lessons from a decade of planning and executing the World Cup—from cultural diplomacy and labor reforms to navigating g...
Send us a text In this episode of the INSEAD Emerging Markets Podcast, Nick Lall speaks with Kaoru Kaganoi, INSEAD MBA '16J and founder of Peach Tech, East Africa’s leading used car marketplace. From growing up in Paris as the son of a Japanese professor of French philosophy to intense stints at McKinsey in Tokyo and Nairobi, Kaoru shares his global journey through social impact work in Bangladesh, Tuvalu, and Palestine, culminating in launching a high-growth startup in Kenya. He opens up abo...
Send us a text In this episode, we were joined by Yana Yasevich, Partner & Head of Platform at Alter Global, an early-stage VC firm focused on emerging markets worldwide. Since 2020, Alter has made more than 70 investments in entrepreneurs based out of São Paulo, Jakarta, Dhaka, Lagos, Buenos Aires, Manila, Mexico City, and more, supporting high-character founders building not just companies, but their communities and economies. We discuss: Yana’s entrepreneurial journey – how launc...
Send us a text In this episode, we were joined by Darren Lapp, CEO of the New Forests Company, a sustainable forestry and timber products business operating in Uganda and Tanzania. Darren shares his journey from growing up in a forestry town in Canada to leading a major forestry enterprise in sub-Saharan Africa. We discuss: Darren’s career path – how he transitioned from biology and soil science to forestry, influenced by early work experiences and international exposure.The challenges of for...
Send us a text Pedja is an INSEAD 14J and GP at Fifth Quarter Ventures, the first VC firm solely focused on Southeastern Europe. Pedja was on the Serbian National Water Polo team, and post-INSEAD scaled Gelato (a print-on-demand startup) into a unicorn my leading its expansion into emerging markets like India, China, and Russia. In this episode we discuss the types of founders Pedja likes to invest in, traits he looks for in investors and partners, how to build brands in emerging marke...
Send us a text Nubank (NYSE: NU) is Latin America's largest fintech company and the world's largest neobank with over 100 million users and a valuation of over $70 billion. Livia is an INSEAD 09D and prior to Nubank directed tech and business analytics at Itau Unibanco (Latin America's largest bank) and was a Partner at McKinsey. Find us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and Youtube.
Send us a text Kevin Carter, founder and chief investment officer of EMQQ Global, joined us to disucss his journey in the investment world, initiated by his transformative reading of "A Random Walk Down Wall Street," which led to him working alongside economist Burton Malkiel of Princeton University in creating multiple stock market innovations like fractional investing and personal indexing, and his ultimate focus on China and other emerging markets. Carter shares insights on the digi...
Send us a text Andrew Henderson is the Founder and CEO of Nomad Capitalist, the world's leading offshore consulting firm dedicated to helping clients make informed decisions on the best countries to invest, start a business and live in. Andrew has helped over 2,000 UHNW individuals go offshore and his YouTube channel has over 750,000 subscribers. Nomad Capitalist Live, Nomad Capitalist's annual event, will be held in Kuala Lumpur this September 25th through 28th. Find us on Apple, Spotify,...
Send us a text In this episode of the INSEAD Emerging Markets Podcast, we speak with Asha Mehta, Managing Partner at Global Delta Capital, about her impactful career in finance, focusing on emerging and frontier markets through a lens of sustainability and responsible investing. Asha founded Global Delta Capital after working as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and Lead Portfolio Manager and Director of Responsible Investing at Acadian Asset Management. Asha has been recognized as...
Send us a text In this episode, Jorge Gonzalez Henrichsen joins us to share his unique path from investment banking and an MBA at NYU Stern to acquiring and then running company at the forefront of the nearshoring movement. He dives deep into both the geopolitical and macroeconomic ramifications of nearshoring and the nitty gritty of what it takes to search for, buy, and then run a cross-border business. Subscribe and follow the INSEAD Emerging Markets Podcast on Spotify, Apple, or Goo...
Send us a text In this episode of the INSEAD Emerging Markets Podcast, we were joined by Emily Chang, a powerhouse in the world of international marketing and business strategy. Currently CEO of VML West (and CEO of McCann Worldgroup in China at the time of recording), Emily's storied career spans influential roles at global giants like Starbucks, Apple, and Procter & Gamble, culminating in her profound impact on brand building and customer experience across continents. Beyond her cor...
Send us a text Nicolas Rohatyn serves as Chief Executive Officer of The Rohatyn Group. TRG is a team of 190+ emerging market specialists in 18 countries dedicated to pursuing investment opportunities in these economies by focusing on areas of structural inefficiency and special opportunity. The firm has over $8 billion in assets under management and splits its investments between public markets, private markets and forestry and agriculture. Prior to founding TRG in 2002, Mr. Rohatyn sp...
Send us a text Jamil Wyne is an INSEAD 18J and advisor, investor, professor and author focusing on climate, entrepreneurship, technology and economic development around the world, including a strong concentration on climate change. Worked with World Bank, IFC, UN, Clean Energy Venture Group, Catalyst Investment Management, Schmidt Futures, Wamda, and Ashoka. INSEAD MBA, Johns Hopkins SAIS MA. Writing/research has been published/cited in SSIR, TechCrunch, World Bank, UN, Wharton, McKinsey, and...