Our Story
As a long-standing member of the expatriate community in San Francisco, our founder Stuart Bagshaw saw foreign businesses struggling to comprehend the many nuances of operating in the US time and again.
Wouldn't it be so much easier to have a trusted partner with local knowledge and connections?
And what about those businesses that lost out on the vast opportunities of the US market without a local guide to help them navigate its complexities?
And so, American Business LEAP was born.
From humble beginnings to 10 years later, we are proud to say we have now assisted countless foreign businesses land and expand in the USA. There is not much that our team has not seen.
American Business LEAP understands that every journey into the US market is different and, as a result, we do not apply a cookie cutter approach to your business. We can assist across all US administrative, accounting, and legal matters to support your expansion. The holistic view we adopt enables us to truly partner with your business, where other companies often provide but a small subset of our services.
The reason clients enjoy working with us is because our service offering is unique, and we listen to our clients. When our clients asked us for a ‘one stop’ solution that can fully support their US expansion needs and back-office, we built a business that does exactly that.
Our dedicated and passionate team is here to help you reach your fullest potential. We look forward to understanding your US ambitions, and partnering with you to ensure your venture is as successful as possible.
Meet the Team
Stuart Bagshaw
Founder & Chairman
After starting his career in the Air Force, Stuart went on to hold C-suite positions at multiple international companies. He has spent the last 10 years sharing his knowledge and experience to champion British and other foreign businesses expanding into the US market.
Despite 28 years living and working in the US, Stuart remains a passionate rugby fan and lover of the Great British institution, the pub.
Adam Beach
Chief Executive (CEO)
Adam Beach relocated to Los Angeles in 2008 from London, with a strong background in European financial client relations.
Since 2003, Adam has been providing clients with comprehensive wealth management solutions. He possesses the professional designations of Uniform Combined State Law (Series 66 license), a Registered Representative (Series 7 license) in addition to Life & Health and Property & Casualty Insurance Licensed. He continued his focus on financial planning when he launched Beach Financial Group in 2008 to educate and assist European businesses in launching a sister bureau overseas.
In the past six years, Beach Financial Group has grown into a full-service insurance agency focused not only on the European Market but large group and small groups packages for retail, medical and law offices, restaurants and more. Sharing his first-hand knowledge and over a decade of experience in the industry, Beach Financial Group & Insurance Solutions has been providing their clients with the finest insurance plans available at the most competitive rates. He is firmly committed to long-term client relationships and through financial planning helps his clients with retirement, education, estate & insurance planning strategies. Beach’s experience and specialization allows him to anticipate client needs and be responsive to the unique requirements of each insurance program.
Joe Power
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Joe is an experienced, dual-qualified US and Australian commercial insurance adviser based in San Francisco.
Over the last 15 years Joe has worked with multi-national, mid-market and start-up enterprises advising in relation to appropriate insurance program structure and placement. His experience has been gained working at AON and other large national brokerages, plus Joe ran his own boutique commercial insurance advisory practice in Melbourne for 6 years before successfully selling that to relocate to San Francisco in 2016.
Joe has first-hand experience working with foreign companies entering the US and has advised across industry in that segment. Foreign companies and brokers regularly engage us for this unique service. Much of the work Joe does is assisting small to medium enterprises that aim to operate at a global scale who encounter difficulties obtaining appropriate insurance advice and service. Too many times it is left to chance or not properly advised upon prior to business growth, sometimes leading to disastrous results.
In addition to his insurance qualifications Joe holds a MBA from Melbourne Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce (First Class Honors).
Heather Podruchny
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Heather is our financial wizard with a superb eye for detail. She has experience working with companies in the UK, the US, Canada and Australia and is well versed in the nuances of international accounting and bookeeping.
As well as being a Canadian Chartered Accountant, Heather enjoys of all things British and can often be found hosting extravagant dinner parties.
Monique Cooper
Payroll Manager
More details coming soon
Marissa Murillo
Office Manager
More details coming soon
