Negotiator of the Year Award - Negotiation and Conflict Management Collaborative

Celebrate Transformational Value Negotiators: The INSEAD Negotiator Award

The INSEAD Negotiator Award recognises an outstanding INSEAD alumnus who embodies the successful impact of Value Negotiation in their career and life, as well as on those around them. This prestigious honour is awarded to individuals who consistently apply collaborative, win-win strategies in business and beyond, nurturing trust, fostering dialogue, and delivering shared success.

From navigating simple to complex deals, aligning diverse stakeholders, or even resolving conflict across cultures, the awardee will be someone whose negotiation approach delivers real-world impact, no matter how small or local, and serves as a model for others. We specifically seek those who achieve sustainable results without relying on power to coerce or obligate others, demonstrating that Value Negotiation is a conscious choice for superior and sustainable outcomes.

About the Negotiation and Conflict Management Collaborative (NCMC)

The INSEAD NCMC is an open and international platform dedicated to bringing together scholars and practitioners to collaborate on research and education on negotiation and conflict management. In addition and among other objectives, the NCMC aims to equip individuals and organisations with evidence-based negotiation and conflict management insights as well as connect a global community motivated to advance win-win and sustainable methods of negotiation and conflict management. Through events, case development, research, and community building, the NCMC promotes approaches to negotiation that are ethical, inclusive, and impact-driven.

Welcome to the NCMC!

Whether you have insights to share, ideas to contribute, or collaborations to propose, we'd love to hear from you.

📧 Contact us: [email protected]

Why This Award?

Negotiation is not just a skill, it is a strategic asset that defines leadership in the 21st century. This award aims to:

• Recognise excellence in win-win collaborative negotiation among INSEAD alumni, highlighting its ability to deliver, on average, the most value at the least risk in the widest range of scenarios.
• Promote a global community of reflective, skilled negotiators who understand that communication, not power, is the main tool for win-win outcomes.
• Showcase best practices that bridge business objectives with superior, sustainable, positive-sum outcomes.
• Create examples, role models, and narratives of consistent and successful applications of win-win strategies and tactics in real-world business negotiations that will inspire and guide future negotiators towards win-win methods.

Award Criteria

Award nominees must be INSEAD alumni and meet the following criteria:

• Demonstrated excellence in adopting win-win negotiation strategies and tactics in your life and career (e.g., not relying or promoting the use of power, promoting a fair and efficient process, fostering collaborative relationships even if short-term, creating value, claiming value based on legitimacy, etc.).
• Significant real-world impact (business performance, stakeholder alignment, community or sector-wide outcomes, as well as other intangible measures of success).
• Commitment to sharing negotiation insights and building a community of practice.

How to Nominate?

INSEAD alumni, faculty, staff, and board members may nominate an INSEAD alumnus, including self-nominations.

First Round Submission

Please submit responses to the following questions (100-150 words minimum):

1. Describe patterns of win-win collaborative negotiation excellence demonstrated by the nominee across multiple real-world situations, focusing on how they consistently achieve sustainable results without relying on power, emphasizing win-win processes that prioritise relationship-building, collaborative problem-solving, and value creation.
2. What tangible, long-term outcomes have resulted from the nominee's negotiation approach, particularly in terms of value creation and risk reduction across different contexts and stakeholder groups?
3. How has the nominee promoted a culture of collaboration, trust, and mutual learning—within or beyond their organisation—through effective communication and the separation of relationship and substance concerns?

Please include supporting documents or narrative per each negotiation.

Shortlisted Candidates

Shortlisted nominees will be required to provide additional materials including:

• Evidence or testimonial from other parties involved in their negotiations (video, letter, other)
• The selection committee will conduct a background check of all shortlisted nominees

All nominations must be submitted by 15 September 2025.

Award Winner

The winner will receive an award during the Second Annual Negotiation in the Middle East Conference.

• Theme: Negotiating to Bridge Cultures and Perspectives
• Date: 26 November 2025
• Venue: INSEAD Middle East Campus, Abu Dhabi 

Winner Engagement Opportunities

The INSEAD Negotiator Award recognises exceptional real-world negotiation achievement. As part of celebrating the winner’s contribution to the field, we offer a range of entirely optional opportunities for further engagement — designed to be flexible, low-effort, and impactful.

These may include:

• Co-developing a negotiation case based on a past experience, with INSEAD faculty or case writers taking the lead. The winner may choose to contribute actively, provide input or context, or simply approve the final version.
• Sharing background information or data from a past negotiation, to serve as the foundation for a teaching role-play or executive education content. Our team will handle drafting, editing, and securing permissions if needed.
• Participating in a video conversation or interview, in a format tailored to the winner’s availability, to reflect on their negotiation philosophy and approach.

Participation in any of these initiatives is entirely optional. Our goal is to make it easy and meaningful for the winner to inspire others, while celebrating their excellence in negotiation on a global stage.

Ready to nominate an outstanding negotiator?

For questions or comments, contact us: [email protected]

Submit your nomination

Nominations will be reviewed and the winner selected by the organising and judging committee.