Nicholas C. Niggli is an internationally recognized leader in diplomacy, complex negotiation, and multilateral governance, currently serving as Executive Chairman of Oⁿ, the world’s first symbiotic intelligence venture studio, and as Co-Chairman of the Board of the Green Digital Finance Alliance. With over two decades of high-level experience, he has consistently delivered transformational outcomes across international trade, global economic policy, dispute resolution, sustainability, and systemic innovation.

As Chairman of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), he led the ministerial‑level renegotiation of a USD 1.7 trillion accord involving 42 economies. He worked directly with the highest‑level government representatives from G20 and emerging nations, conducted extensive outreach to the Global South, and coordinated with the Bretton Woods institutions to embed transparency, sustainability, and governance standards. He also mediated politically sensitive accession breakthroughs—including the China–Taiwan understanding and the Russia–Georgia agreement—unlocking market access and institutional integration. For this work, he was recognized as a key contributor to the WTO’s institutional legacy.

Nicholas served for 15 years in the Swiss diplomatic service, including as Deputy Head of the WTO Division of the Swiss Mission to the WTO and EFTA. He represented Switzerland in negotiations on the Doha Round, TISA, and various WTO accessions. He was also responsible for host country matters as well as budget, finance, and administration. From 2013 to 2017, he was posted in London as Head of Economic, Trade, Finance, Science, and Innovation Affairs at the Swiss Embassy in the UK, where he led bilateral relations during the Brexit transition and chaired the Association of Economic Representatives in London, representing over 250 diplomats.

From 2017 to 2024, Nicholas served first as Director General and later as Deputy Secretary General of the Republic and State of Geneva, where he led macroeconomic strategy and international partnerships for a CHF 59 billion economy. He positioned Geneva as a global innovation platform, co-creating Building Bridges and Trust Valley, and successfully negotiated the localization of the CyberPeace Institute (with the President of Microsoft) and the relocation of the Global Network of Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) (with the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Environment).

He teaches, mentors, and shares insights with the next generation of international leaders, guided by the conviction that one must give back and pass on lessons learned from high-stakes environments.

Nicholas has also held senior leadership roles in institutional finance and nature finance. As Chairman of the WTO Pension Plan Board, he steered the fund through the global financial crisis, led governance reform, revised investment policy, and successfully negotiated an increase in the retirement age. As Associate Principal at NatureFinance, he led anticipatory systems-change work addressing the intersection of climate, biodiversity, and financial risk, advancing regenerative finance strategies for long-term planetary health.

He has cultivated a high-level global network across more than 100 countries, engaging senior figures in government, diplomacy, finance, trade, innovation, academia, and civil society. His leadership is consistently recognized for its ability to build trust, align divergent interests, and catalyze systems-level change.

Nicholas holds First-Class Honours Master’s Degrees in Economic & Social History and International Relations from the University of Geneva, the University of Aberdeen, and the Geneva Graduate Institute (IHEID).

A former competitive athlete who remains active, he brings a performance mindset to leadership. Disciplined preparation, adaptable execution, and strategic resilience, anchored in a commitment to servant leadership, define his approach; his ongoing athletic pursuits and his role as founding president and player of a community sports club that brings together senior enthusiasts and war refugees reinforce this ethos of inclusion and performance.