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Meet Our Trainers
Jake Darbandi
Associate Trainer
Jake is a trained legal advisor, his expertise comes from advising clients in high-stakes criminal defence situations. Jake has represented clients for the most serious of offences including cases attracting national interest.
Jake has a deep understanding of negotiation theory, having won both national and international negotiation competitions. He has coached students in negotiation at the University of York and BPP University.
Jake has a diverse academic background with degrees in Philosophy & Economics (BAHons) and Law (PGDL / LLM). Jake is based in London and committed to commercial law working for a leading global law firm, Hogan Lovells.
Paul Emtsev
Negotiation Consultant
Paul Emtsev studied social sciences at LMU Munich, Université de Montréal, University College London and Higher School of Economics Moscow with a focus on international relations, conflict research and discourse analysis.
Today, Paul works as an independent team facilitator, workplace mediator and communication consultant with individuals, groups and organizations. He regularly accompanies change processes and conflicts both in the public and private sectors.
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Paul speaks German, French, English, Russian and Italian.
Jan Friedrichs
Negotiation Consultant
Jan Friedrichs studied business administration with a particular focus on management and human resource development at the Hochschule für Wirtschaft near Hamburg and in Boston. After spending four years in international sales for a global consumer products company, and seven years in total in industry, in 2005 Jan founded his own company as an entrepreneur, trainer and consultant. He coaches, advises and trains middle and senior management and their teams, working for clients such as Airbus, HanseWerk and HELM.
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Jan also teaches at the Leuphana Universität Lüneburg and the NORDAKADEMIE in Elmshorn. His company Adventure Learning (www.adventure-learning.de) offers innovative approaches to HR development for management and emerging leaders through original learning experiences training communication and leadership skills as well as personality development.
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Jan is a German citizen and lives in Hamburg.
Philippe Gruca
Negotiation Consultant
Philippe Gruca holds degrees in Philosophy (Sorbonne) and Sociology (EHESS), and today
teaches these disciplines at university, as well as Negotiation with Rational Games and
Psychology – in particular at the Sigmund Freud University in Paris.
He is also the founder of the atelier français, a French language school combining linguistic,
rhetorical, and intercultural dimensions. He teaches these disciplines to cultural and political
figures in Paris, Berlin and Warsaw.
As a specialist in the thought of Günther Anders, Philippe Gruca has taken part in numerous
publications and conferences on the ethics of responsibility, the question of scale and
technology.
He co-directed the interdisciplinary journal Entropia (dealing with the Anthropocene,
degrowth and transhumanism), and is currently Director of Editorial Board of the
interdisciplinary journal Inter-Nord and a member of the Malaurie Institute of Arctic Research
Monaco-UVSQ.
Philippe Gruca speaks French, English, German and Polish.
Anna Hänig
Negotiation Consultant
Anna is a licensed psychotherapist and systemic consultant with a focus on interactional dynamics, perspective shifts, and sustainable change. Her clinical background is complemented by experience in entrepreneurship, consulting, and psychosocial support, including work in Malawi, Micronesia, and the UK.
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Drawing on a strong foundation in systemic thinking and psychology, Anna designs and delivers negotiation and conflict resolution trainings that foster deep insight, empathy, and constructive communication. She is especially interested in the interplay between mental health, relational patterns, and organisational transformation.
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Anna holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from Heidelberg University, graduating with top marks, and completed an Erasmus semester at the University of Southampton. She also completed a three-year professional certification in Systemic Therapy and Counselling at IGST Heidelberg.
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She combines clinical expertise with an entrepreneurial mindset to support individuals and teams in navigating complexity. Anna is fluent in German and English, with additional proficiency in French and Spanish.
Felix Herrmann
Negotiation Consultant
Felix has a background in strategy consulting in the analytics space in the finance, banking, airline, and retail space. He currently leads a team of Data Scientists at Meta, where he supports the cross-functional development of new commerce products. Felix’ negotiation specialty is cross-functional collaboration and conflict resolution in large, interdependent organizational structures. He holds a bachelor degree in industrial engineering and a Master in Management from the École Supérieure de Commerce in Paris. Felix lives and works in London.
He is fluent in German, English and Spanish.
Johannes Hofmann
Negotiation Consultant & Professional Dancer
Johannes Hofmann is a negotiation consultant and trainer with a focus on gender
equity, male engagement, and organizational change. He supports international
organizations and private sector clients through facilitation, training design, and
strategic advisory, including assignments with UNODC and UN Women in Nairobi,
and previous experience at GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation).
Alongside his consulting work, Johannes is a professional competitive dancer and
brings performance-based and embodied methods into negotiation, storytelling, and
presentation trainings, focusing on communication, empathy and presence in high-
stakes situations. At Rational Games, he contributes to programmes such as
“Negotiation as Dance” and delivers training on negotiation, persuasive storytelling
and presentation skills.
Johannes holds degrees in Psychology, Philosophy and Political Science. Based in
Berlin, he works in German and English.
Ziad Holaihel
Coach and Trainer
Ziad Holaihel is a Beirut-based Coach and Trainer with over 15 years of experience in management, consulting, and sales. Specializing in strategic growth, he has a proven track record of transforming start-ups, SMEs, and public sector organizations across the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe. A Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Mathematics equips him with a strong analytical foundation.
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Fluent in English, French, and Arabic, Ziad is a trilingual advisor who leverages his certifications in Design Thinking, Life Coaching, NLP, and Time Line Therapy to offer holistic business solutions.
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His multidisciplinary approach focuses on team-building, operational excellence, and profit maximization.
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Lisa Laiblin
Negotiation Consultant & Professional Dancer
Lisa combines three fields: Education, Negotiation, and Dance. She is part of the Trainer
Team at Rational Games, contributing her expertise in Leadership, Storytelling, and
Negotiation.
Her academic background includes degrees in Philosophy as well as in Slavic Literature and
Linguistics, complemented by pedagogical studies in Tübingen and St. Petersburg. Today, she
also works as a schoolteacher in Berlin, where she teaches German, Arts, and Political Education.
In addition, Lisa is a professional dancer who competes in World Ranking Events across
Europe. She draws on her stage experience in performance and body language to enrich her
work in training and education. Based in Berlin, Lisa is fluent in German, English, and Russian.
Joana Matos
Negotiation Consultant
Joana has conducted training on topics such as negotiation, gender and culture in negotiations, conflict management, and emotional intelligence and has wide international experience. Through her work at Rational Games Inc, she has had the opportunity to teach at several prestigious companies and government institutions such as the German Foreign Ministry, the BBC, Mercator Kollege, University of Zurich, Xing, and EU International Communication Union, to name a few.
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Besides Mediation and Advanced Negotiations training from the Harvard Program on Negotiations, she holds an MBA from Reykjavik University, a Master's in Humanitarian Action and Conflict from Uppsala University as well and a diploma in Protocol and Diplomacy from the International School of Diplomacy of Brussels. Furthermore, she has specialized in Humanitarian Negotiations at the Clingendael Institute of International Relations of the Netherlands and is a PhD candidate at the Twente University in Negotiations.
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Joana is a Portuguese and Icelandic citizen and is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, English and Icelandic.
Janne Sven Krippl
Negotiation Consultant
Janne is an organisational psychologist with a focus on corporate transformation and conflict resolution. He is passionate about advising and supporting organisations, teams and leaders in the successful design and implementation of change processes.
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Janne has several years of professional experience in research, including at the Centre for Social Innovation and Investment at the University of Heidelberg, and in consulting for international organisations such as the United Nations and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (giz). He also works as an independent consultant and trainer in negotiation and conflict resolution, as well as other topics such as storytelling, stakeholder management and leadership.
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Janne is a Harvard-trained mediator and holds a Master's degree in Psychology from the University of Heidelberg and the University of Vienna. He also received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Political Economy. With a PhD in Psychology, he is currently specialising in organisational change and decision-making.
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He is a German citizen and speaks German, English, French and Russian.
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Felix Miller
Negotiation Expert
Felix Miller is a Negotiation specialist with a focus on Entrepreneurship, Banking & Finance as well as Negotiation education, currently working at Deutsche Bank AG as Vice President Deal Expert.
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During his career, Felix has created several ventures, worked in Startups & co-founded Deutsche Bank's Office for Negotiation, providing him ample opportunities to work in different contexts & cultures including Africa, the US, Asia & Europe. In 2018, he joined Rational Games Inc., as a Negotiation trainer & advisor to our clients, grantees & board members.
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Felix is a Harvard-trained negotiator, holds an MSc. in International Business Negotiation from IÉSEG School of Management in Paris & a BA. in Business Administration from the Munich University of Applied Sciences. He speaks German (native), English, French & Italian.
Hami Neisari
Negotiation Consultant
Hami is a consultant specialising in negotiation training, alliance partnerships, and coaching for young professionals. He is an experienced entrepreneur and worked with strategic management consulting companies, such as Bain and BCG, to deliver primary research data for commercial due diligence projects. Hami currently leads an alliance partnership team of a French software company, which is part of the French Tech Association.
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Hami holds a master's degree in International Business Negotiation from IÉSEG School of Management in Paris as well as a BA in Business Administration from Munich University of Applied Science. He speaks English, German, French, and Farsi.
Julia Romanova
Communication and Voice Coach
Julia is a communicator, linguist, educator, professional actress, and voice coach who is passionate about conscious communication and cross-cultural dialogue. With more than ten years of experience in adult education and a strong acting background, she has developed her own unique expertise in public speaking and storytelling.
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Her favorite topics include stage fright, self-confidence, and female leadership.
Julia’s first collaboration with Rational Games dates back to 2011. Since then, she has contributed to seminars on negotiation both as an actress and as a trainer.
Two of her signature phrases are:
“HOW is at least as important as WHAT” and “You are a story you’re telling yourself.”
In addition to her training and acting work, Julia also serves as a consultant for communication and multimedia for various organizations and foundations. Julia is fluent in German, English and Russian.
Sebastian M. Schäfer
Negotiation Consultant
Sebastian Schaefer is a strategic consultant working primarily in the banking and financial services industry with a particular focus on marketing, pricing and negotiation. He also advises clients from the public and private sectors with regard to negotiation and communication skills as an Associate Consultant for the nonprofit training and coaching company Rational Games Inc.
Sebastian holds a degree in Industrial Engineering with majors in mechanical engineering and strategic management. He also studied International Business Negotiation at IÉSEG in Paris.
Sebastian is fluent in German and English, with a working knowledge of French.
Antonia Tomasta
Negotiation Consultant
Antonia is a negotiation consultant and trainer specializing in cross-cultural communication and international collaborations.
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Throughout her career, Antonia has developed proficiency in adult education, sales, marketing, and strategic partnership development. She has negotiated sales contracts, managed stakeholder relations, and established multifaceted partnerships in both the private and public sectors.
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Antonia holds an MSc in International Business Negotiation as well as a Key Account Management certification from IÉSEG School of Management in Paris. She also holds a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Lethbridge, Canada. She speaks English, Spanish, and French.
Julian Wittkamp
Negotiation Consultant
With an academic background in Diplomacy, International Relations, Political Science, and History, Julian provides interdisciplinary expertise on political negotiations. He has been part of the German delegation to a United Nations assembly in Nairobi, worked with high-level clients ranging from diplomats to politicians and businesspeople, and studied in three different countries, winning scholarships and awards. He is passionate about intercultural communication and intensifying global cooperation on the pressing political and environmental issues of our time.
Julian is currently finalising his Adv. MSc. degree in International Relations and Diplomacy at Leiden University and holds a BA in History and Political Science from the University of Bonn. He is fluent in German and English.