An international, cross-industry career that has moved from corporate management to extensive research, advisory and capability development services to public, private and third sector organisations. Tim has lived and worked in the UK, France (3 years) and United States (20 years), building an impressive research and entrepreneurial record, with demonstrated commitment to delivering social benefit.

As Founder and President, World Commerce & Contracting (formerly International Association for Contract & Commercial Management), Tim has built a 72,000 member worldwide non-profit association which increasingly influences commercial policies and contracting practices in major corporations and governments. In September 2019, he was presented with the Financial Times ‘Market Shaper of the Year’ Award.

Tim was until recently Professor and Chair, International Commercial & Contract Management, University of Leeds, School of Law, where he taught and led development of inter-disciplinary commercial programs.

Prior to founding World Commerce & Contracting, Tim was on the Chairman’s staff at IBM Corporation and led the development of worldwide commercial processes and skills. His early career included management roles in banking, automotive and aerospace industries, where he led negotiations up to $1.5 billion in value. He has served in advisory roles for government departments in various countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan.

Keld Jensen has consistently ranked in the Global Gurus Top 30, reaching #4 as a Global Guru on Negotiation worldwide in 2024. In 2016 he was recognized as one of the world’s 100 Top Thought Leaders in Trust. He is the creator of the world’s most awarded negotiation strategy, which has received accolades from The Organization of Public Procurement Officers and The World Commerce & Contracting Organization’s Innovation and Strategic Award, IACCM etc.

Keld's extensive background in management and his role as a former CEO of a publicly traded technology company, underline his leadership and strategic acumen. An associate professor, Keld teaches at top-ranked universities worldwide, including the Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU, BMI Executive Institute in Lithuania, BMI/Louvain University in Belgium, and Denmark’s Aalborg University. He is the former chairman of the Centre for Negotiation at Copenhagen Business School.

With more than 200 international TV appearances, and hundreds of articles in major business publications across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the U.S., Keld has established himself as a global thought leader. He is a prolific author of 26 books, which have been translated into 16 languages and have reached over 3 million readers worldwide. Several of these works have received awards, marking him as a significant voice in international business literature.

He is the founder and head of The SMARTnership Negotiation Organization, a pivotal force in consulting and training for both the private sector and governmental bodies. His clientele includes industry giants such as Vestas, LEGO, ConocoPhillips, Novo Nordisk, Johnson & Johnson, Bechtel and leading organizations like UNICEF and World50, as well as the governments of Canada, Denmark, and Great Britain.

Keld is the Negotiation Expert in Residence at WorldCC.

Gert Tinggaard Svendsen is a professor of Comparative Politics and former Head of Section at the Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Denmark. He earned his Ph.D. (Econ.) in 1996 and MSc (Pol.Sci.) in 1991. Svendsen is actively involved in public choice societies, having served as a member of the editorial board of Public Choice (2004–2009), Chair of the Danish Public Choice Association (2004–2006), and as an elected member of the Executive Board of the European Public Choice Society (2014–2017). He is also an accomplished author with numerous books and peer-reviewed articles published in leading international journals. His primary research interests include trust, social capital, collective action problems, institutional quality, welfare states, and climate policy. In 2016, Svendsen was honored as Knight of the Order of Dannebrog by the Danish queen for his contributions to trust research.