Introduction
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.
Announcing the Winner of the Inaugural INSEAD Negotiator Award
We are delighted to announce Erik Weytjens (MBA'92J) as the inaugural recipient of the INSEAD Negotiator Award.
A leader who exemplifies the principles of Value Negotiation, Erik has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to building trust, fostering collaboration, and creating sustainable, positive-sum outcomes across sectors and cultures. His work—from transforming labour relations early in his career, to facilitating multilateral consensus among complex stakeholder groups, to strengthening governance within the social profit sector through BoardCompanions—reflects the essence of thoughtful, ethical, and impact-driven negotiation.
Be an optimist, have a collaboration mindset, and stay curious — because the world needs negotiators who create value together.
Why Erik Was Selected
Erik is recognised for his demonstrated ability to consistently achieve sustainable, collaborative outcomes in high-stakes negotiations across sectors without the use of power. His work strengthens trust, aligns diverse stakeholders, and elevates long-term value creation — exemplifying the principles of Value Negotiation in both purpose and practice.
Impact Highlights
- Creates positive-sum outcomes benefiting businesses and communities
- Builds bridges across interests, contexts, and cultures
- Models a respectful, learning-oriented approach to negotiation
- Advocates for the development of future negotiation leaders
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
About the INSEAD Negotiator Award
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.
Nomination Process
About the Nomination Process (Updated Following the 2025 Award Cycle)
The INSEAD Negotiator Award follows a rigorous and transparent selection process designed to identify alumni who exemplify the principles of Value Negotiation in real-world contexts. While nominations for the 2025 cycle are now closed and the winner has been announced, the following outlines the process for future award cycles.
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 conducts a thorough review before final deliberation.
Award Ceremony
The 2025 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.
Nominations for the 2026 Award
Nominations for the next award cycle will open in 2026.
For questions or to express early interest, please contact:
