Mr Nicholas Niggli

Nicholas C. Niggli is a Swiss venture architect, systems leader, and former senior diplomat working at the intersection of geopolitics, frontier technology, and global governance. He is widely recognised for his ability to operate in high-stakes, complex environments and to transform systemic constraints into pathways for cooperation, innovation, and impact.
He is Founder and Executive Chairman of Oⁿ Venture Studio (Switzerland), a next-generation venture building platform designed for an era where intelligence itself is becoming abundant. Through the ground-breaking orchestration of human, artificial, and nature intelligence, Oⁿ systematically creates AI-native, net-positive ventures across the future of life, industry, and work. Its model aims to bridge the persistent gap between strategic insight and real-world execution, enabling faster, more resilient, and purpose-driven innovation, globally.

Nicholas also serves as Co-Chairman of the Board of the Green Digital Finance Alliance, a United Nations-backed foundation advancing digital finance aligned with planetary boundaries, biodiversity, and inclusive climate solutions.
Over more than two decades in international diplomacy, Nicholas has held senior roles within the Swiss government and multilateral system. As Chairman of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, he led ministerial-level negotiations covering USD 1.7 trillion in global market access and successfully mediated politically sensitive agreements, including between China and Chinese Taipei, and Russia and Georgia. His contributions were recognised as part of the institutional legacy of the multilateral trading system.

In parallel, he served as Chairman of the WTO Pension Plan Management Board, where he steered the institution through the global financial crisis and led a comprehensive restructuring of its governance and administrative framework. This included advancing reforms to strengthen oversight, modernise investment strategy, and adjust long-term sustainability parameters, notably through the successful negotiation of an increase in the retirement age. His leadership reinforced the fund’s resilience, credibility, and alignment with evolving fiduciary standards.He later served as Director General and Deputy Secretary General of the Republic and State of Geneva, where he helped position Geneva as a global platform for digital trust, sustainable finance, and multistakeholder governance. He initiated and scaled major international initiatives including Building Bridges, Trust Valley, and the Geneva Digital Talks, and played a key role in attracting institutions such as the CyberPeace Institute and the UN-led Financial Centres for Sustainability global network.

A globally recognised authority on complex negotiation dynamics, Nicholas has developed and led advanced negotiation simulation systems used to train senior diplomats, executives, and decision-makers worldwide. His simulations go far beyond traditional role-play, integrating real-world geopolitical, economic, and behavioural complexity into immersive environments where participants must operate under pressure, incomplete information, and shifting power structures. Designed as strategic laboratories, they enable participants to internalise the dynamics of trust-building, coalition formation, deadlock resolution, and breakthrough creation, and are widely recognised for their intensity, realism, and transformative impact.

As Guest Faculty and Professor of Practice at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, he translates these capabilities into executive education, teaching negotiation, mediation innovation, and strategic advocacy. His approach combines real-world experience with systems thinking to equip leaders to act decisively under conditions of uncertainty and power asymmetry. He has also been a guest lecturer at Harvard University, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Warwick, the University of Geneva, and the World Trade Institute.

At the core of his work lies a conviction that the world is entering a new phase of systemic transformation, where resilience, security, and prosperity depend on our ability to orchestrate multiple forms of intelligence and align purpose with performance. He advocates for an entrepreneurial renaissance capable of addressing the defining challenges of our time, from climate and biodiversity to economic security and geopolitical stability.
Nicholas holds First-Class Honours Master’s degrees in Economic History and International Relations from the University of Geneva, the University of Aberdeen, and the Graduate Institute. He brings a performance mindset shaped by years of competitive sport, translating endurance, discipline, and decision-making under pressure into his approach to leadership.