FACULTY

Prof. Nadja Alexander is a recognised thought leader in dispute resolution. She is an award winning author and educator, a conflict intervention professional, and an independent adviser on mediation policy to international bodies and national governments.

Nadja is Academic Director of the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy, and holds university appointments in the United States and Australia. She has taught mediation at universities and in corporate settings all over the world. Nadja has worked in conflict resolution settings in more than 30 countries. Who’s Who Legal has identified her as “highly sought after” for her expertise in cross-cultural disputes.

Nadja plays a leadership role in mediation policy making, law and practice and has been engaged as an adviser by international organisations such as the World Bank, the OSCE and the IFC.

Michael McIlwrath is Global Chief Litigation Counsel for GE Oil & Gas and has been based at the company’s offices in Florence, Italy since 1999.  His team is responsible for dispute resolution around the world, and represents the company in mediation and arbitration proceedings and supervises the conduct of court litigation.

Michael is co-author, with John Savage, of International Arbitration and Mediation:  A Practical Guide (Kluwer Law International 2010), as well as a contributing editor to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog.  Michael is a member of the board of directors (and past chairman) of the International Mediation Institute (IMI), a non-profit based in the Netherlands that promotes quality, transparency, and ethics in mediation, and he is currently chair of the Global Organizing Committee for the Global Pound Conference Series 2016, a multi-city conference under the auspices of IMI that will involve stakeholders in a discussion about the future of dispute resolution.

Michael was also the host of International Dispute Negotiation, a podcast featuring leading professionals and cutting-edge topics in dispute resolution (and recipient of the CEDR Award for Innovation in ADR).

Johannes P. Willheim is an internationally trained disputes lawyer, mediator and professional negotiator. He is a partner of the Global Disputes Practice of Jones Day and advises clients around the globe in how to best prevent, manage and resolve disputes and, if need be, to represent and defend their interests in formalized proceedings.

In addition to his work in private practice, Johannes is frequently appointed as an arbitrator and independent expert in DIS, ICC, VIAC, and other institutions as well as ad hoc arbitration proceedings. He also assists parties in the consensual resolution of business disputes either as mediator or professional negotiator.

Johannes is dedicated to developing and applying a holistic and systematic approach to disputes management. His approach is based on the presumption that disputes are a normal part of any business, like financing, innovation or HR.  As a consequence, effective and efficient prevention, management and resolution of disputes requires not only actual dispute resolution tools and processes (e.g. court or arbitration proceedings and various ADR methods) but a more general body of disputes management know-how and tools, i.e. a “School of Disputes Management”, focused on the development of standardized and individual solutions for managing disputes.

Dr. Claudia Winkler LL.M. (Harvard) is the founder of The Negotiation Academy™ and the Director of the IBA-VIAC CDRC Mediation and Negotiation Competition. Claudia received her Master’s and Doctor’s degree in European and international law from the University of Linz and her LL.M. from Harvard Law School.

As a trainer, Claudia has helped unlock the negotiation potential of more than 4,500 professionals in law firms, businesses, conferences and universities across the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
Her professional experience reaches from law to government, non-for profit, start-up, MNCs, university and international institutions.

She has worked as the ADR development coordinator with the New York International Arbitration Center during her time as a Fulbright scholar and is a licensed Mediator in New York.