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Why Geopolitics Decides Which Global Expansions Succeed or Fail

Geopolitical conflict isn’t background noise for global business-it shapes where companies can expand, how they are perceived, and whether they can operate without reputational damage. Many leaders underestimate the role of politics and national identity until they face backlash from governments, customers, or the press. Bruce Talley brings rare perspective, having built businesses in both Russia and Ukraine-two countries locked in bitter conflict. He unpacks how to evaluate risk before entering volatile regions, how to balance credibility with local realities, and how to protect both people and reputation when tensions rise. With billions in career sales and frontline experience navigating corruption, security services, and public perception in high-risk markets, Bruce shows why geopolitics is now a boardroom issue no company can afford to ignore.

About Bruce Talley

Bruce Talley, podcast guest

International Business Strategist, Author, and Thought Leader

$2B+ Bond and loan-participation sales4 Markets Olympic host locations supported61 Destination Sochi team members ledDestination Ukraine Business development leader

Bruce Talley is an entrepreneur, author, and global business executive with over $2.1 billion in career sales to Fortune Global 500 companies, institutional investors, and high-net-worth individuals. With decades of experience in American capital markets, major international events, and destination management, Bruce has successfully led transformative projects in complex and often volatile markets, including Russia, Ukraine, and the Caucasus region.

Currently, Bruce spearheads Destination Ukraine, a firm dedicated to providing international investment and business development to support Ukraine's reconstruction. He provides end-to-end solutions for companies entering the market, from location search and property acquisition to securing work and building permits to managing workforce relocation and staffing. His work is vital in fostering economic growth in a nation rebuilding from a decade of Russian aggression.

Bruce’s life is equally compelling. His forthcoming book, “Counting Grasshoppers, an American in Putin's Republic of Worry”, offers an unfiltered account of his decade as a foreign entrepreneur facing Russian corruption, his dealings with security services, and the systemic challenges of the post-Soviet space. Bruce's story includes owning businesses in provincial Russia, while under the constant scrutiny of the FSB- Russia's successor agency to the KGB.

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