The International Business Podcast

If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, this is the show for you. This is your host Leonardo Marra, welcome to The International Business Podcast. This episode is part of the CONCEPT series, where Leonardo aims to define a key topic in international business. Today, we're discussing the G-7. The G-7, or group of 7, are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The UK and the USA, collectively accounting for around two-thirds of the world’s economic output. These seven powerhouses, through their treasury officials, strive to cultivate balanced economic growth and stable exchange rates. ⁠⁠Join Leonardo on Patreon for:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://patreon.com/LeoIntBiz?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] Podcast Archive: 102 episodes (40+ hours). Podcast Bonus Episodes: New exclusive content. Early Access: Upcoming YouTube videos and newsletters. Thinking Process Journal: Insights into Leonardo's content preparation, including a curated reading list and personal reflections. Q&A: Submit questions for future episodes, and receive a shoutout when they are answered. If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, come on the show to share your story. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with the host Leonardo Marra.⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardo-marra26/] ⁠⁠LinkedIn newsletter.⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7257606587039592448/?displayConfirmation=true]

If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, this is the show for you. This is your host Leonardo Marra, welcome to the international business podcast. International strategy, how to measure cross-cultural competency in multinational teams, and more. ⁠Join Leonardo on Patreon for:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://patreon.com/LeoIntBiz?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] Podcast Archive: 102 episodes (40+ hours). Podcast Bonus Episodes: New exclusive content. Early Access: Upcoming YouTube videos and newsletters. Thinking Process Journal: Insights into Leonardo's content preparation, including a curated reading list and personal reflections. Q&A: Submit questions for future episodes, and receive a shoutout when they are answered. Keith Jackson [https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithjackson1/] is recognized for his strategic foresight, driving progress in complex situations while generating new revenue streams and enhancing competitive advantage. His expertise includes strategic acquisitions, effective partnerships, and business growth. Holding Chartered Director and BS13500 credentials, Keith elevates board governance, risk management, and regulatory compliance within transparent, trusted environments. He trains directors, develops board competence, and has contributed to over 20 boards across SMEs, scale-ups, start-ups, and third-sector organizations. With more than 30 years of experience and advanced cultural fluency, Keith excels at building resilient international supply chains, forming strategic alliances, and fostering bilateral trade with over 70 countries, with a focus on ASEAN, China, and Japan. As a Chartered Engineer, he champions innovation, fosters organizational learning, and promotes cross-border, multi-disciplinary collaboration. Keith’s commitment to leadership development is demonstrated through his role as a Visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield and his mentoring and advising of directors across diverse organizations. He applies strong commercial acumen to monitor and improve company performance. With over 20 years of directorship experience in both executive and non-executive roles, Keith has led organizations through major changes including product portfolio shifts, market expansions, and restructures. His approach emphasizes employee engagement, distributed leadership, succession planning, and cross-disciplinary collaboration, underpinned by an inclusive leadership style. If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, come on the show to share your story. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with the host Leonardo Marra.⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardo-marra26/] ⁠LinkedIn newsletter.⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7257606587039592448/?displayConfirmation=true]

If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, this is the show for you. This is your host Leonardo Marra, welcome to the international business podcast. The episode focuses on India, exploring the persistent misconceptions foreign executives bring to Indian workplaces and how global leaders can adapt their leadership styles to navigate India's hierarchical corporate structure. Find more details about the guest below. ⁠Join Leonardo on Patreon for:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://patreon.com/LeoIntBiz?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] Podcast Archive: 102 episodes (40+ hours). Podcast Bonus Episodes: New exclusive content. Early Access: Upcoming YouTube videos and newsletters. Thinking Process Journal: Insights into Leonardo's content preparation, including a curated reading list and personal reflections. Q&A: Submit questions for future episodes, and receive a shoutout when they are answered. With guest: Aarti Kelshikar [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aarti-kelshikar/] is an intercultural coach and author. She is the founder of 3A Consulting and has been working in the space of leadership and cultural effectiveness since 2008. She has worked and lived in India, Singapore and the Philippines. Aarti is a certified facilitator of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and accredited coach of The International Profiler (TIP), frameworks that help assess and develop intercultural effectiveness. She is also a certified executive coach from the international Neuro Leadership group. Through her cultural interventions, Aarti enables executives and students to successfully transition roles, levels and geographies. She conducts workshops on developing cultural intelligence and on doing business in South-East Asia and India. She has trained senior executives from multinational corporations like Nestlé, Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, Colgate Palmolive, and Texas Instruments. Aarti has recently published her second book titled How Women Work: Fitting in and Standing Out in Asia. Published by HarperCollins, the book observes women leaders through a pan-Asian lens providing insights on leadership and success in Asia. Her first book How India Works: Making Sense of a Complex Corporate Culture was published in 2018. The book is a guide to the cultural nuances and complexities of working with Indians. Aarti is a member of the Harvard Business Review (HBR) Advisory Council, an opt-in research community of business professionals across the world. She is on the Advisory Board of the Diversity Economics Institute, a UK-based organization. Aarti is co-founder and Board Member of SIETAR Southeast Asia, an organization for intercultural education, training and research which develops Asia-focused expertise. Before discovering the fascinating world of intercultural coaching, Aarti worked for seven years in the area of securities market compliance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India in Mumbai and with a consulting firm in Singapore. She has a master’s in business administration from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) in Mumbai and a bachelor’s in commerce from Sydenham College in Mumbai. If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, come on the show to share your story. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with the host Leonardo Marra. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardo-marra26/] LinkedIn newsletter. [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7257606587039592448/?displayConfirmation=true]

If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, this is the show for you. This is your host Leonardo Marra, welcome to the international business podcast. Today, we delve into international sales. From connecting SMEs across Australia, Latin America, and Spain to overcoming regulatory challenges and understanding cultural nuances, two expert guests share insights on what's changed in the industry and how to succeed in diverse markets. See below for further information about the two guests. Join Leonardo on Patreon for:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://patreon.com/LeoIntBiz?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] Podcast Archive: 102 episodes (40+ hours). Podcast Bonus Episodes: New exclusive content. Early Access: Upcoming YouTube videos and newsletters. Thinking Process Journal: Insights into Leonardo's content preparation, including a curated reading list and personal reflections. Q&A: Submit questions for future episodes, and receive a shoutout when they are answered. With guests: Alex Baneres [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexbaneresinternationalsales/] is a versatile and results-driven international marketing and sales leader with extensive experience across diverse sectors, including education, home care, travel, weight loss programs, drinkware, homeware, books, meal replacements, sports nutrition, and video games. Proven expertise in business development, P&L ownership, CRM implementation, and building long-term relationships with distributors, affiliates, and resellers in international markets such as Australia, Spain, and Latin America. Over the last two years, Alex has worked as a marketing and sales agent for several European businesses in Australia and is currently focused on growing an Australian company across Europe and Latin America. Fluent in Spanish and English, with a strong ability to manage complex projects, launch new products, optimize digital marketing strategies, and deliver measurable results. Zach Selch [https://www.linkedin.com/in/international-sales-growth/] is a renowned global sales leader with over 30 years of experience driving international business growth. Zach's career achievements include generating over $1 billion in revenue across 150+ markets and onboarding more than 1,000 partners globally. He has been instrumental in transforming underperforming sales teams into high-performing powerhouses, achieving growth rates as high as 4,000%. His practical strategies for building international distributor networks and navigating cultural complexities have earned him recognition as a trusted mentor and advisor. Zach holds a certificate in Global Sales and Marketing Management from The Wharton School and a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Economics from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, come on the show to share your story. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with the host Leonardo Marra [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardo-marra26/]

If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, this is the show for you. This is your host Leonardo Marra, welcome to the international business podcast. Today, we delve into the Gulf countries. With the rapid growth in smartphone and internet penetration in Saudi Arabia, how can businesses leverage the digital landscape to enhance customer experience and market reach? Why is Dubai a hub for AI? How are Gulf businesses shifting supply chains towards emerging markets in Central Asia? And much more… We do this with 3 expert guests. Check further below for their detailed information. Join Leonardo on Patreon for:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://patreon.com/LeoIntBiz?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] Podcast Archive: 102 episodes (40+ hours). Podcast Bonus Episodes: New exclusive content. Early Access: Upcoming YouTube videos and newsletters. Thinking Process Journal: Insights into Leonardo's content preparation, including a curated reading list and personal reflections. Q&A: Submit questions for future episodes, and receive a shoutout when they are answered. With guests: With a globe-spanning career, Corina Goetz [https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinagoetz/]has embodied roles as diverse as Advisor, Educator, Confidente and Specialist in Middle Eastern culture. By creating Star-CaT, a Middle Eastern Advisory, Training, and Consulting firm, she has spent over 20 years forging trusted relationships with leaders from the Gulf, royal families, and business magnates. Her remarkable success includes escalating a company's regional client base from zero to a 6 million annual turnover. As a German national and non-Arabic speaker, she brings a unique perspective to the table, embodying the bridge between the West and the Middle East. Having navigated the complex cultural landscapes herself, she understands the subtleties of communication, attire, and social structures in the Gulf. Through Star-CaT, her mission is global – to educate, guide and assist companies in navigating the dynamic business environment of the Gulf with confidence and cultural intelligence which then leads to exeptionnel commercial success. Corina's expertise in Middle Eastern customs and business etiquette has made her an indispensable ally to a variety of clients, including prestigious names like Aka, Corinthia London, Sarova Group, Monteverdi Tuscany, King & Spalding, Dr. Rita Rakus, and Acorn Capital Advisors. She is committed to ensuring her clients not only meet but exceed the expectations of their Middle Eastern counterparts. Oksana Didyk [https://www.linkedin.com/in/oksana-didyk/] is a strategic consultant and researcher specializing in the Gulf region’s energy, food and agriculture, culture, and logistics sectors. With 12 years of experience in business strategy, lean management, and market entry, she has advised governments, trade organizations, and multinational companies on navigating complex regional dynamics. Oksana is also completing her PhD in Political Studies, focusing on political branding and governance in the Middle East, giving her a deep analytical edge in understanding the region’s economic and geopolitical landscapes. Combining academic insight with hands-on expertise, she helps businesses not just enter the Gulf, but truly succeed in it. Giorgio Morocica [https://www.linkedin.com/in/giorgio-morocica/] is the Head of Business Development at Edugo.AI, a Gen AI-powered Learning Management System, acquired in 2023. Giorgio is also the founder and CEO of "The Founders Club" an international community with the mission to help founders and entrepreneurs create a scalable business EXIT successfully. Furthermore, he is an Angel Investor with currently 6 startups in his portfolio and a mentor for startup founders and entrepreneurs.  He holds a bachelor's degree in linguistics from Università per Stranieri di Siena and a triple master's degree from ICN Business School, University of Bologna, and East China University of Science and Technology. If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, come on the show to share your story. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with the host Leonardo Marra [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardo-marra26/]