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INSEAD Leadership Summit Asia_ Amitava Chattopadhyay

Horacio Falcao

Professor of Management Practice of Decision Sciences

Biography

Horacio Falcão is a Professor of Management Practice at the Decision Sciences Dept. at INSEAD, where he teaches and researches on Negotiation Sciences. He also directs the INSEAD executive education Negotiation Dynamics program and co-created the two new INSEAD negotiation certificate programs: Online Certificate in Negotiation and Advanced Certificate in Negotiation. He is the creator of the Value Negotiation system: a strategic and flexible approach to negotiation designed to maximize rewards at minimum risk in an international and complex world. He is also the founding partner of two companies: Value Negotiation (VN), an advisory company to support organizations in their complex negotiations, and VN Tech, a negotiation-support SaaS startup. In 2010, Horacio published his book: Value Negotiation: How to Finally Get the Win-Win Right. He also became a Top 50 Bestselling Case Author in 2020/21.

Previously, Horacio worked at Cambridge Negotiation Strategies and CMI International Group (a spin-off from the Harvard Negotiation Project) and at two prestigious law firms in Brazil. He founded and was the first Vice President of the Harvard Latin America Law Society. He has worked for the International Court of Arbitration in Paris, and as a Harvard-trained mediator, he has mediated cases at the courts of Massachusetts. A lawyer trained in both civil and common law systems, Horacio graduated as an LL.M. from Harvard Law School with a concentration on alternative dispute resolution in 1997. He has an MBA (2002) and an Executive Masters in Organizational Psychology (2010) at INSEAD. In 2019, he earned his Ph.D. at Singapore Management University.

For the past 20 years, Horacio has been teaching INSEAD clients and assisting VN & VN Tech clients around the world. His diverse client list includes airlines, automotive, business schools, chemicals, consulting companies, energy, engineering, financial institutions (ex: investment banks, PEs, asset managers, sovereign funds, etc), FMCG, governments, high-tech/hardware, holding companies, infrastructure, international organizations, internet companies, labor unions, media & advertising, mining, NGOs, oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, R&D companies, retail, shipping, software, and telcos.
Before INSEAD, Horacio taught negotiation at the Program of Instruction for Lawyers (PIL) at Harvard Law School and mediation at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, and the Harvard Mediation Program. He is an active angel investor (2.5x return in 10+ investments) and an advisor to a few start-ups.

He has lived in Brazil, US, France, Singapore, and Switzerland, and worked in over 30 other countries. He was based at INSEAD Singapore for 18 years and transferred to the Abu Dhabi campus in mid-2019. Since the beginning of his tenure at INSEAD, Horacio received the following awards:

Award winning role-plays
o Human Resource Management/Organisational Behaviour category 2017: Oxipouco: An Endangered Species Resource Negotiation (A) & (B)
o Entrepreneurship category 2020: Boost M6700 (A and B)
o Women in Business category 2020: The Dual Career Negotiation

Teaching awards
o Best MBA Elective Professor in 2004, ’05, ’06, ’08, ’09, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ‘19 (INSEAD)
o Best EMBA Elective Professor in 2005 (INSEAD)
o Best TIEMBA Elective Professor in 2008 (Tsinghua University, Beijing, China)

Latest posts

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Strategy

Six Principles for Successful Multiparty Negotiations

H. Falcao, N. Ferchachi

What managers can learn from COP28, which resulted in nearly 200 nations endorsing a landmark climate accord.

Leadership & Organisations

What It Means to Lead in a Multipolar World

H. Falcão, M. Le Menestrel

By overcoming our fears and creating a brave space for dialogue, we can relate and lead better in the new multipolar world.
2 comments

Strategy

Stop Labelling Negotiations as Win-Win or Win-Lose

Horacio Falcão

Too many people have an either naïve or fatalist view of these terms, which have become so misunderstood that we should perhaps even discard them.

Strategy

Why Businesses Should Negotiate Prices With Customers

H. Falcao, A. Komaromi

In most scenarios, B2C companies have more to gain by bargaining than not.

Entrepreneurship

Speed, Power and Flow: Use Surf Criteria to Rate Start-ups

Rony Stefano & Horacio Falcão

A novel method to predict start-up success.
2 comments

Strategy

Why Negotiators Should Be on Social Networks

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

The mere presence of a Facebook connection increases trust and forgiveness in negotiations.
1 comment

Strategy

Don’t Let Time Pressure Dictate Your Options

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

Proactive negotiators are less likely to be tempted by inferior deals.
1 comment

Strategy

Does Eating Together Improve Negotiations?

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

Who you share your table with may add or detract value.

Strategy

The Truth About Lies in Negotiations

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

It’s a complex game of “catch me if you can”.

Strategy

Does a Tough Reputation Pay Off in Negotiations?

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

How to build the type of reputation proven to lead to better deals.

Strategy

Who Benefits From Transparent Pricing?

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

The American steel industry provides a case study on the effects of price disclosure.

Strategy

Why Negotiators Should Lose Sometimes

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

Lose a battle to win the war.

Strategy

Can Alcohol Help You With Negotiations?

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

What research tells us about the art of negotiating under the influence.

Strategy

When Winning Means Losing in Negotiations

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

Be careful about imposing your terms as it may backfire.
2 comments

Strategy

Is Kim Jong-un Crazy, and Other FAQs on North Korea

Despite appearances to the contrary, the protagonists in the North Korea conflict are pursuing rational negotiation strategies.

Strategy

Can Advisors Afford to Give Uncertain Advice?

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

Confidence may go a long way when there are no certain answers.

Strategy

The Persuasive Power of Transparency

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

Cost transparency can be a compelling strategic choice in both marketing and negotiation.
1 comment

Strategy

How to Outsmart the Car Dealers’ Tricks

Horacio Falcão & Alena Komaromi

Skilled persuaders use a few key principles to influence potential buyers.