Aurélien Colson

Biography

 Dr. Colson is Associate Professor of Political Science and Negotiation at ESSEC Business School, and Director of the Institute for Research and Education on Negotiation (IRENE Paris & Singapore). ESSEC IRENE has run operations in 63 countries, developping research, field intervention and capacity building programmes in negotiation, mediation, conflict resolution, governance, CSR and stakeholder's dialogue. Since 1998 Dr. Colson has been teaching negotiation, change management, and leadership at ESSEC for MBA students and for corporation executives. Since 1998 he is also an adjunct professor in negotiation at ENA –France’s national administration school– where he was promoted in 2002 to coordinator of the negotiation seminar. He has done research, consulting and trainings, in more than 30 countries, for companies, public administrations, and international organizations (European Commission, The World Bank, UNDP, United Nations Institute for Training and Research, etc.). He also contributes to fieldwork and post-conflict facilitation efforts (Burundi, DRC, Horn of Africa). He was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2012 to the Steering Committee of the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO, Brussels), where he serves as Honorary Treasurer. His research appears in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of International Negotiation, Négociations, Revue française de gestion, Personnel, Contrats publics, Futuribles, Futures, Foresight, and International Relations. He authored, co-authored or edited 5 books translated into 7 languages, including the best-selling Méthode de négociation (2004, 2008 with A. P. Lempereur). Latest book: Entrer en Négociation. Mélanges en l'honneur de Christophe Dupont (2012). From 1998-2002, Dr. Colson served as Advisor to the French Prime Minister. From 2002-2005, he was Project Leader at the French Government’s strategy agency, where he led a task force on change management and negotiation in the public sector (La conduite du changement dans le secteur public, 2005). He also worked on futures studies. Aurélien Colson holds a doctorate in political science (Université Paris-Sorbonne-Descartes) and a PhD in International Relations (University of Kent). He got his first degree from Sciences Po Paris. As a Jean-Monnet Fellow from the British Council, he received a Master in International Conflict Analysis (Kent). He got his MBA at ESSEC. A member of the British International Studies Association and of the Association française de science politique, he is a Fellow of the 21st Century Trust (London). In 2002 he was awarded a Marshall Memorial Fellowship by the German Marshall Fund of the USA. In 2008 the Académie des sciences morales et politiques (Institut de France) awarded a Grand Prix to his research. Aurélien is married, the father of two sons, and lives in Paris. French is his mother tongue, he is fluent in English. Among his hobbies are playing the piano, cooking and sharing a nice bottle of wine with friends.

Research Interest

 Negotiation processes and methods Conflict resolution and mediation  Change management  Secrecy and transparency in organisations and decision-making systems Governance of risk mitigating complex systems