INSEAD Negotiator Award
Celebrating Value-Creating Negotiators across the INSEAD Alumni Community
The INSEAD Negotiator Award recognises alumni who demonstrate the power and impact of Value Negotiation in their professional and personal lives, as well as in the communities around them. This prestigious honour celebrates individuals who consistently apply collaborative, win-win strategies in business and beyond—nurturing trust, fostering dialogue, and delivering shared success.
Whether navigating complex deals, aligning diverse stakeholders, or resolving conflicts across cultures, award recipients are individuals whose negotiation approach delivers meaningful real-world impact—large or small, global or local—and serves as a model for others. We particularly 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 enduring outcomes.
Each year, the award honours an INSEAD alumnus whose work illustrates how negotiation can be a powerful force for positive impact.
Meet the Inaugural Winner
The inaugural INSEAD Negotiator Award recognises Erik Weytjens (MBA'92J) for his outstanding leadership in transforming complex, multi-stakeholder negotiations into lasting agreements.
Throughout his career, Erik has shown how trust-based negotiation can unlock value across organisations and industries. From rebuilding labour relations through constructive dialogue to aligning diverse stakeholders around a shared future, his work exemplifies the transformative potential of negotiation.
Today, Erik continues this mission through initiatives at BoardCompanions, mobilising experienced leaders to strengthen governance and leadership in non-profit organisations.
Be an optimist, have a collaboration mindset, and stay curious — because the world needs negotiators who create value together.
Watch Erik’s Acceptance Speech
In his acceptance speech, Erik reflects on the deeper purpose of negotiation—moving beyond winning or losing to creating solutions that benefit all parties. He also shares lessons from pivotal moments in his career and why curiosity, optimism, and courage are essential qualities for negotiators.
Why the INSEAD Negotiator Award
Negotiation lies at the heart of leadership.
From business strategy and labour relations to diplomacy and social impact, the ability to negotiate effectively enables leaders to navigate complexity, align stakeholders, and create shared value.
The INSEAD Negotiator Award was created to:
Celebrate excellence in negotiation among INSEAD alumni
Highlight real-world examples of value-creating negotiation
Inspire future leaders to approach negotiation as a collaborative and constructive process
By showcasing these achievements, the award reinforces INSEAD’s commitment to using business as a force for good.
Award Criteria
The award recognises INSEAD alumni who demonstrate:
Exceptional negotiation capability
Successfully navigating complex negotiations involving multiple stakeholders.Value creation
Achieving outcomes that generate lasting value for organisations, communities, or industries.Leadership and integrity
Demonstrating principled negotiation and collaborative leadership.Impact
Delivering measurable and meaningful results through negotiation.
Nominees may come from any sector, including business, government, non-profit organisations, or social enterprises.
Nominate a Candidate
Nominations for the INSEAD Negotiator Award 2026
Do you know an INSEAD alumnus whose negotiation leadership has made a meaningful impact?
We invite nominations for the 2026 INSEAD Negotiator Award.
Who Can Nominate?
INSEAD alumni, faculty, staff, and board members may nominate an INSEAD alumnus, including self-nominations.
First-Round Submission
Nominators are to provide written responses (100–150 words minimum per question) addressing the following:
- 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.
- 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?
- 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?
Supporting documentation (e.g., narratives or examples) may be included as appropriate.
Shortlisting Process
Shortlisted nominees are invited to provide additional materials such as:
- 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
A selection committee of negotiation scholars and practitioners will conduct a thorough review before final deliberation.
Award Ceremony
The inaugural INSEAD Negotiator Award was presented at the Second Annual Negotiation in the Middle East Conference, held on 26 November 2025 at the INSEAD Middle East Campus in Abu Dhabi.
Details for the 2026 ceremony will be announced in due course.
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.
Award Committee
Nominations will be reviewed and the winner selected by the organising and judging committee.
Professor of Management Practice of Decision Sciences
Professor of Organisational Behaviour
Professor of Organisational Behaviour
Negotiation Advisor and Professor
Zeina Sleiman MAP S/F'12Aug
Director of Alumni Engagement and Learning, Advancement
Negotiation Expert
Negotiation Advisor
