What makes someone a world-class negotiator? Is it instinct? Strategy? Timing? For Dr. Victoria Medvec, it’s all of the above, blended with a relentless drive to understand human behavior and help others harness its power.
Before she ever stood in front of Fortune 100 executives or became one of the most respected professors at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, Victoria was just starting out, young, eager, and placed in an ambitious United Way program with top college graduates. In Toledo, Ohio, under the mentorship of fundraising visionary Viney Chandler, she discovered her knack for negotiation.
“She encouraged me to find a way to ‘show off my fastball,’” Victoria recalls. “At the time, I didn’t know what that was, but it turned out to be negotiation.”
That “fastball” would become a lifelong pursuit. From working in development for the University of Akron to pursuing a PhD at Cornell, where she studied under legendary thinkers like Tom Gilovich and Richard Thaler, Victoria cultivated not just knowledge, but application. What began as a curiosity has become a career at the intersection of research and real-world impact.
Today, she is the founder and CEO of Medvec & Associates, a globally respected consulting firm, and the Adeline Barry Davee Professor of Management and Organizations at Kellogg School of Management. Her work bridges the high-stakes realities of executive boardrooms with the intellectual rigor of top-tier academia, and the results speak for themselves.
Bridging Academia and the Boardroom
After completing her PhD in Psychology at Cornell University, while teaching negotiation at the business school, Victoria was invited to join the faculty at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. There, she quickly rose through the ranks, earning early tenure and establishing herself as a bridge between research faculty and practitioners.
“My academic and consulting work complement each other,” she explains. “Much of my research is inspired by the strategic and high-pressure scenarios I see in the field.”
Her consulting firm, Medvec & Associates, was born from that very insight: that rigorous research could and should shape how top executives negotiate and make decisions. Today, the firm delivers world-class training in negotiations, decision-making, and influence to over 50,000 professionals worldwide, and has consulted on more than $60 billion in deals.
But what sets her apart is how she blends scientific precision with intuitive coaching. She doesn’t just teach techniques, she equips leaders to think, act, and respond with clarity and conviction. Each session, whether in a boardroom or a lecture hall, is an exercise in applied leadership.
The Psychology Behind Powerful Negotiation
Victoria’s bestselling book, Negotiate Without Fear, has become a guide for professionals looking to elevate their approach to high-stakes conversations. At the heart of her method is a shift in perspective, away from ego and toward impact.
“To negotiate effectively, people need to reduce their egocentric bias,” she explains. “They must focus on how their differentiators address the other side’s most pressing needs.”
According to Victoria, egocentric thinking often leads negotiators to set weak goals, communicate ineffectively, and fail to create value. Her framework flips the lens: by viewing negotiation as an opportunity to deliver targeted value, professionals can optimize outcomes while strengthening relationships.
Negotiation, in her view, isn’t adversarial; it’s about alignment, opportunity, and influence. “Too often, people go into negotiations thinking they need to win a battle,” she says. “But the real power lies in creating a solution that serves both sides.”
Her training programs and speaking engagements have changed the way professionals, from Fortune 500 leaders to entrepreneurs, approach conversations that shape careers, close billion-dollar deals, and build long-term partnerships.
Decision-Making at the Top: What Leaders Overlook
Victoria doesn’t just coach individuals, she advises boards and senior executives, navigating some of the world’s most complex decisions. One of the most common pitfalls she sees? Misaligned attention.
“Executives often focus on mid-risk decisions that should be delegated,” she says. “If they use their cognitive capacity on less critical matters, they have less bandwidth for the truly high-risk, high-impact calls.”
In an age of information overload, the smartest leaders are those who learn to filter, delegate, and focus. Her firm helps executives implement structured decision-making protocols that free up bandwidth for what matters most. It’s a subtle but powerful shift—from being reactive to being truly strategic.
In her upcoming book, Decide Without Fear, co-authored with Jenna Baskin, Global Managing Director of Medvec & Associates and a former Kellogg student, Victoria plans to dig deeper into the tools and mindset leaders need to make better decisions faster and with more confidence.
Championing Women in Leadership
As Executive Director of the Kellogg Center for Executive Women, Victoria is also a tireless advocate for gender equity at the highest levels of business. Her work aims to dismantle barriers and accelerate the advancement of women into senior leadership and board roles.
“Women have made great progress, but we risk losing momentum if we stop advocating,” she says. “They need to ask for visibility, for key roles, for development opportunities.”
While the number of women on U.S. corporate boards has grown, Victoria points out that progress stalled in late 2024, a reminder that the push for equity must remain proactive. Boards, she insists, need to see that inclusion isn’t just ethical—it’s strategic.
“It’s not just about diversity,” she explains. “It’s about decision-making quality and business performance. Gender equity is a business imperative.”
She encourages women to negotiate more, just as they would for any business goal. “Asking for opportunity, development, and leadership roles isn’t selfish,” she says. “It’s essential.”
From Classroom to C-Suite
What sets Victoria apart is not just her ability to translate theory into practice, it’s her unwavering dedication to shaping the next generation of leaders from within one of the world’s most prestigious institutions. As the Adeline Barry Davee Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, she doesn’t just teach negotiation, she lives, breathes, and refines it daily through interactions with both MBA students and corporate boardrooms.
Her classroom is more than a lecture hall; it’s a launching pad for leadership. Through her executive education programs and MBA courses, Victoria has guided thousands of students and professionals through the art of influence, decision-making, and high-stakes negotiation. Her approach is immersive and results-oriented, infusing academic rigor with case-based learning, role play simulations, and real-world applications drawn from her consulting work with over a third of the Fortune 100.
“Teaching at Kellogg is a privilege,” she says. “It’s where future business leaders are shaped. And being part of that journey, helping them develop not just as professionals but as people—is deeply meaningful.”
Her influence extends far beyond Northwestern’s campus. As a globally sought-after speaker and faculty member, Victoria regularly lectures at major business forums, corporate retreats, and governance conferences. Her academic research, published in top-tier journals like Psychological Review and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, has been cited widely in media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and The Today Show.
From university auditoriums to corporate boardrooms, Victoria continues to challenge conventional thinking while empowering the next generation to lead with confidence, insight, and fearless conviction.
What’s Next for Victoria?
As the business landscape becomes increasingly volatile and interconnected, the need for decisive, fearless leadership has never been greater. And that’s exactly where Victoria plans to focus next.
With Decide Without Fear on the horizon, and Medvec & Associates expanding its global footprint, she remains committed to helping leaders thrive in uncertainty. Her consulting work continues to grow, supporting organizations across sectors in navigating negotiations, sales, and strategy with clarity and confidence.
Through it all, her mission remains the same: to equip today’s leaders with the tools, mindset, and strategy to lead, and decide without fear.
On the Cover – Victoria Medvec, CEO of Medvec & Associates
Website – www.medvecandassociates.com
LinkedIn – @victoriamedvec
Instagram – @victoriamedvec
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