William Ury

William Ury is a co-founder and deputy director of the Negotiation Program at Harvard University. Alongside Roger Fisher and Bruce Patton, he authored the book "Getting to Yes" (Kastaniotis Editions, 2001), which sold two million copies and was translated into twenty-two languages. He also co-authored (with Jeanne M. Brett and Stephen M. Goldberg) the book "Getting Disputes Resolved: Designing Systems to Cut the Costs of Conflict," which won the first prize from the Center for Public Resources for its excellence and innovation in alternative dispute resolution. An expert in negotiation and conflict resolution, subjects he taught at Harvard Business School, Ury trains executives of large corporations, union leaders, diplomats, and military officials. His clients include AT&T, IBM, American Express, as well as the State Department and the Pentagon. He has participated as a mediator in business, labor, and international disputes. As director of the Nuclear Negotiation Program at Harvard Law School, Ury authored the book "Beyond the Hotline: How Crisis Control Can Prevent Nuclear War." He served as an advisor to the White House on the establishment of nuclear risk reduction centers in Washington and Moscow. Additionally, he served for five years as assistant director of the Program on Preventing Nuclear War at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He earned his undergraduate degree from Yale and completed his Master's and doctoral studies at Harvard.