Former FBI hostage negotiator to speak Oct. 6

September 27, 2011

Gary Noesner, former FBI chief negotiator, will discuss “Calm, Creative Communications in Crisis” Oct. 6, 4:30 p.m., at University of Richmond’s Jepson Hall, Room 120.

A 30-year FBI veteran, Noesner worked primarily as a hostage negotiator specializing in Middle East hijackings that involved American citizens, as well as embassy takeovers, prison riots and militia standoffs. He retired as chief of the FBI's Crisis Negotiation Unit, Critical Incident Response Group, the first person to hold that position.

Following his retirement from the FBI, he became senior vice president of Control Risks, an international risk consultancy, and recently spent five and a half years working a kidnap case in Colombia involving three American defense contractors taken hostage by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). He continues to do kidnap management consulting work for Control Risks part-time.

Last year, Noesner published a book, “Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator,” and is an expert in not only negotiation skills, but also their broad applicability to leadership and everyday situations.

The program, part of the Marshall Center Lecture Series at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, is free and open to the public. Advance registration online at www.jepson.richmond.edu/marshall or by phone at 804-287-6522 is required. For more information, call 804-287-6522, or email sbest@richmond.edu.

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