A former RAID negotiator trained at the FBI National Academy, Laurent Combalbert brings crisis negotiation methods into the business world. He chairs The Trusted Agency and teaches complex negotiation at HEC Paris.
#Negotiation
#CrisisManagement
#Leadership
#Trust
Languages: French (native), English
Laurent Combalbert is a keynote speaker on negotiation and crisis management. A former negotiator with RAID, the French police special intervention unit, and a graduate of the FBI National Academy, he handled dozens of hostage situations, extortion cases and kidnappings before putting his method to work for executives and their teams.
His message fits in one line he often repeats: negotiation is neither intuition nor talent, it is a skill you learn.
From RAID to the boardroom
A graduate of the French national police officers’ academy (ENSOP), Laurent Combalbert served as a negotiator with RAID, the special intervention unit of the French national police. He dealt with hostage situations, kidnappings, extortion and prison mutinies, and trained many officers to handle them. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
His career inspired the American TV series Ransom, broadcast on CBS and then on TF1 in France.
A negotiator working with companies
A professional negotiator since 1998, Laurent Combalbert chairs The Trusted Agency (TTA), which he co-founded, and has advised business leaders for more than twenty years. He teaches complex negotiation at HEC Paris and in 2021 opened an eco-responsible training campus in Burgundy.
In October 2026, TTA and the business school BSB announced the School of Négo, which trains students in complex negotiation using the HERMIONE protocol he developed. He also chairs Don de confiance, a non-profit that helps young people build self-confidence.
His books
Laurent Combalbert has written some thirty books. The best known, Negociator, co-written with Marwan Mery and published by Dunod, is available in English as Negotiator. His other titles include Les 5 leviers de confiance, Guide de survie du manager and La négociation (2024, with Damien Deluz). He also writes thrillers, among them Négo, which won an award in 2021.
Laurent Combalbert’s keynotes
Laurent Combalbert speaks on four themes: complex negotiation, the five levers of trust, collective agility and leadership under high intensity. Each talk is prepared with the organiser and tailored to the audience, whether a sales convention, a management seminar or an executive committee.
Frequently asked questions
What does Laurent Combalbert speak about at corporate events? Complex negotiation, trust, collective agility and leadership in high-pressure situations, drawing on his experience as a crisis negotiator.
How do I book Laurent Combalbert for a keynote? Contact Minds: we check his availability, refine the brief with you and send you a proposal. Get in touch.
