Yashar Cihan

Yashar Cihan built his career in the corporate world, moving through the ranks to become an executive in international business. That experience, the negotiations, the boardrooms, the moments when everything depended on how someone chose their words, became the foundation of everything that followed.

In 1999, he joined the Haute École de Bruxelles as Professor of Applied Economics, and founded BreathingStone, a Brussels-based company specialising in leadership training and executive coaching for international organisations. For more than two decades he has accompanied executives and leaders who wanted to have more impact, not just more authority. His areas of focus are strategic influence, negotiation, and branding.

He holds a post-graduate qualification in pedagogy and has built a distinctive approach to professional development grounded in active pedagogy and socio-constructivism. The belief at its core is simple: adults learn by doing, by reflecting, and by doing again differently. It is the same belief that runs through every page of this book.

He also serves as a strategic adviser to corporations and individuals navigating complex decisions and high-stakes communications. Economist, computer scientist, and educationalist, Yashar Cihan has spent more than forty years across business, coaching and teaching. He trained in the demanding discipline of martial arts, which he has practised for over forty-five years. He is a highly ranked master and the founder of Brussels’ leading martial arts school. A reminder, perhaps, that the deepest lessons about discipline, presence, and respect for the person in front of you are learned not only in the classroom.