‘Drivers’ is an interview series with prominent Israeli business figures.

The host, Erin Kopelow, is co-founder and director of business development for Tel Aviv University’s Sofaer International MBA and a recent graduate of the Kellog-Recanati Executive MBA. Originally from Canada, Erin moved to Israel nine years ago and currently lives in Tel Aviv.

In 2009, Yossi Goldschmidt boarded a plane tasked with founding the India branch of Makhteshim Agan (now Adama Agricultural Solutions). It was time for one of the global leaders in pesticide production to open its first Asia branch, but Goldschmidt wasn’t a believer in following the crowd: Rather than set up a wholesale business, Golschmidt targeted local retailers and even the farmers themselves to establish his brand – ground up.

Today Goldschmidt is in charge of 530 local employees and a business worth $160 million. He talks to Drivers host Erin Kopelow about his personal take on breaking new markets and bridging cultural gaps.