In this episode Mikael Björknert, CEO of PrivatBank, joins Sam to discuss what it means to run Ukraine’s largest bank during a full-scale war. As head of the country’s largest state-owned bank, Mikael offers a rare front-line perspective on how financial infrastructure, operational resilience and national security have become inseparable in wartime Ukraine.
The conversation covers how wartime conditions have forced a level of speed and adaptability on the bank that outpaces many Western organisations and also examines Ukraine’s wider economic trajectory, from the rise of the drone economy and the role of international investors to PrivatBank’s eventual privatisation as part of the country’s EU accession path.
Mikael reflects on the resilience of Ukrainian entrepreneurs, the bank’s work supporting veterans and why investors waiting for complete stability may find that the real opportunity has already passed.
Host: Sam Gyimah, Founder and CEO of SG& Capital Partners
Producers: Clare Williamson and Duncan Williamson for TGOB Intelligence Ltd in partnership with SG& Capital Partners Ltd.
Music composed by: Sophie Sirota
For listener questions or business inquiries please email info@thegeopoliticsofbusiness.com, and to contact SG& Capital Partners please email info@sgand.com.
You can find a summary of the key points in this episode in The Geopolitics of Business Newsletter.
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