Leadership & Organizational Behavior Expert; Distinguished Professor at IMD Business School; Author of "Hostage at the Table" & "Care to Dare"; Former Hostage Negotiator

Switzerland
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George Kohlrieser Biography

George Kohlrieser is a Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland. As an organizational and clinical psychologist, hostage negotiator, author, consultant, conference speaker, and media commentator, Kohlrieser integrates frontline crisis experience with academic research in high-performance leadership, conflict management, and negotiation.

Kohlrieser began his career as a licensed psychologist working alongside the Dayton Police Department in Ohio, focusing on reducing homicides in domestic violence situations. He served as a hostage negotiator and police psychologist for the Dayton Police Department and the Montgomery Sheriff's Department, and directed police stress management and fitness-for-duty programs. Having been held hostage four times, he later taught hostage negotiation at the Dayton Police Academy. Kohlrieser earned his doctorate at Ohio State University, where his dissertation examined cardiovascular recovery of law enforcement leaders following high-stress situations. He has contributed to conflict management and mediation interventions with police, military, and humanitarian organizations in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Croatia, and other regions.

At IMD, Kohlrieser is the founder and director of the High Performance Leadership program and the Advanced High Performance Leadership program. His research, teaching, and consulting focus on high-performance leadership, teamwork, conflict management, change management, negotiation, coaching, stress management, work-life balance, and personal and professional development. As a consultant, he has worked with global companies such as Accenture, Cisco, Coca-Cola, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Medtronic, Roche, Santander, Swarovski, Toyota, and UBS.

Kohlrieser is the author of "Hostage at the Table" and "Care to Dare." "Hostage at the Table" is an international bestseller and received the Best Business Book Award from Dirigeants Commerciaux de France and the Best Management Book award from Managementbuch.de. "Care to Dare: Unleashing Astonishing Potential Through Secure Base Leadership" was nominated as one of the Best Business Books of the year by Soundview. His work has been featured in Wall Street Journal, Economist, and other major newspapers and magazines. Kohlrieser is also a featured speaker in Daniel Goleman's "Leadership: A Master Class," where he discusses high-performance leadership, bonding, and conflict management.

Kohlrieser has received the CEEMAN Global Champion Award for Excellence in Teaching, the BrandLaureate International Brand Personality Award for high-performance communication, and the ECCH Renewable and Sustainable Energy, Technology and Development Hot Topic Case Award. He is a frequent speaker at management and professional conferences, including the World Business Forum, World Economic Forum, and United Nations. Kohlrieser is recognized for applying the hostage metaphor to leadership development and for his secure base leadership concept, which has influenced organizational approaches to trust, resilience, and peak performance.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 10/30/2026.

George Kohlrieser Speaking Topics

  • High Performance Teamwork

  • Inspiring and Developing Leadership Talent

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George Kohlrieser Videos

George Kohlrieser - Secure-base leadership

George Kohlrieser - Secure-base leadership

WOBI: World of Business Ideas - George Kohlrieser - Secure-base leadership: Creating trust in people, teams and organizations

Dr George Kohlrieser on leading a high performing team

Dr George Kohlrieser on leading a high performing team

How caring should a leader be? 100%? 80%? Who makes a better leader - males or females? Dr George Kohlrieser answers these thought provoking...

A hostage negotiator teaches leadership through bonding | George Kohlrieser

A hostage negotiator teaches leadership through bonding | George Kohlrieser

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. When someone has a gun to the head of another person, and...

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George Kohlrieser is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as High Performance Teamwork, Inspiring and Developing Leadership Talent, The Power of Dialogue, Secure Base Coaching, Managing Conflict and Transition in Family Business and Managing Conflict in High Impact Negotiation. The estimated speaking fee range to book George Kohlrieser for your event is available upon request. George Kohlrieser generally travels from Switzerland and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Tal Ben-Shahar, Robert Cialdini, Richard Florida, Jack Canfield and Jordan Goldman. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling George Kohlrieser for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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