Location, Disruption, Location
The Bottom Line
BBC
4.6 • 606 Ratings
🗓️ 17 July 2014
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Civil war in Sierra Leone, political unrest in Ukraine, the Japanese tsunami and Hurricane Sandy on the east coast of the US - three guests tell Evan Davis how they led businesses through periods of unexpected and extended turmoil.
Guests : Peter Kaye, Director of Business Development, Pilgrims Group Bryan Disher, Ukraine Country Manager, PWC Mary Bahsoon, Co-owner Bennimix
Producer : Rosamund Jones.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Thank you for downloading this program. In this edition of the bottom line, Evan Davis and guests discuss what happens when the country in which you're doing business is suddenly disrupted by civil unrest or war. |
| 0:12.9 | Hello and welcome to the program. We're going to hear about businesses in the most testing of circumstances today, not the usual office row or a delayed delivery, |
| 0:22.0 | a quality problem in the factory? No, my three guests today all have experiences of working |
| 0:27.4 | in countries in turmoil, of trying to keep things running while outside the business, |
| 0:32.3 | civic life is falling apart. It's business not as usual. It's a theme, incidentally, that allows you to see your own |
| 0:38.6 | everyday workplace headaches in context. So let me take first a few minutes to introduce my three |
| 0:44.7 | guests, one by one. I'll start with Brian Dissha, who is managing partner in Ukraine for the |
| 0:50.5 | global accounting and consulting firm, PWC. And just tell us about when you arrived in |
| 0:56.5 | Ukraine, Brian, where from? I arrived from Vancouver, British Columbia, almost four years ago now, |
| 1:02.1 | ended up with an adventure that was a little different than originally planned, I must say. |
| 1:05.7 | Is it all in Kiev? No, we've got four offices in Ukraine. The largest is in Kiev, but we also have two offices |
| 1:11.5 | in Eastern Ukraine, one in Dynetsk, one in Nipapitrovsk, and then a small office in Western |
| 1:16.3 | Ukraine in Lviv. And how many staff have you got in totaling Ukraine? Close to 400 overall in Ukraine. |
| 1:21.5 | And how did the Ukraine posting come about? Had you been interested in Ukraine at some point earlier in |
| 1:26.0 | your life? A complete lark. |
| 1:28.9 | Decided over a bottle of wine one night with my wife. |
| 1:31.3 | So the opportunity came up and we said why not. |
| 1:33.8 | Okay, well, we're here about the more tumultuous times that Ukraine has endured in recent months a little later. |
| 1:40.2 | Also with us is Mary Bassoon, who is co-owner with a husband of a company in Sierra Leone, |
| 1:46.4 | and that's companies called Benamix. |
| 1:48.9 | And Mary, just tell us what Benamix does. |
| 1:51.0 | Benamix produces blended food that would be suitable for infants and young children. |
... |
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