At the intersection of business & geopolitics

Max began his career at a San Francisco investment group partnered with the Nakhodka Free Economic Zone (NFEZ) on an infrastructure initiative supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC, now DFC) as part of the firm’s planned $100 million commitment to the region. The effort involved a joint venture to manufacture and export woven polypropylene commodity bags, giving him early exposure to project finance, supply-chain dynamics, and cross-border execution.

He later advised stakeholders of a Silicon Valley–Kyiv real estate project on a six-hotel acquisition and redevelopment effort, leading operational assessments and reviewing management agreements with global operators including Hilton, Sheraton, and Radisson. He went on to co-found Global Shield Partners, a threat and risk-management company supporting organizations that required advanced premises-security and threat-mitigation frameworks across large public venues and corporate facilities.

He later joined Robert Half (RHI), partnering with its risk and regulatory consulting arm, Protiviti, and securing multiple multimillion-dollar Sarbanes-Oxley engagements — including Silicon Valley’s largest at the time — setting a new company benchmark in his first year.

In 2006, he co-founded Execuforce, scaling the IPO, regulatory-compliance, and leadership-search firm to more than $1M in its first year. He built the firm’s early client base, led search and business advisory engagements, and developed operational processes that supported sustained growth.

Max brings geopolitical insight, an entrepreneurial mindset, and operational leadership grounded in execution across both high-growth and public companies. He holds an M.A. in International Policy Studies and a B.A. in International Relations from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.