Becoming a Master of Negotiation

Michael Teoh
Founder and CEO of Thriving Talents

‘Our Future is Negotiated and Created.’ – That would sum up the life and business of The Star newspaper’s Malaysia Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2019, Mr. Michael Teoh the Founder & CEO of Thriving Talents, who grasped the coveted industry award for Companies Valued Up to RM 25 Mil. The serial entrepreneur has built a successful global training company in Thriving Talents, who serve 39 of the Fortune 500 companies across 41 countries to date, and had since ventured into online learning.

He had served as a Global Advisor for Microsoft’s YouthSpark initiative, and had shared the stage, speaking to both business and young leaders, with Billionaire Sir Richard Branson, Father of Social Business Prof. Muhd. Yunus and Rockstar Legend Sir Bob Geldof. He had even received a special visit from President Barack Obama during a workshop, organised by Microsoft, in which he was a Speaker & Facilitator.

Despite of facing bitter challenges during his schooling years, Michael rose up and have attributed towards his ‘Negotiation and Salesmanship’ skills that have gotten him opportunities to serve more people in life. During his university years, he ‘Negotiated’ for sponsorships to get him funded to attend leadership programmes in Harvard, Stanford and INSEAD. He ‘Negotiated’ to attend classes in ‘Strategy’ that had allowed him to become an Apprentice for the world’s largest consulting firms during his university days in New Zealand, despite graduating with a Marketing & International Business degree. In fact, he fondly recalls, being involved with a high-level ‘Negotiation Team’ where his team raised 8-Figures funding to start a Malaysian NGO when he was 22 years old, upon his return home from overseas studies

Today, through Thriving Talents, Michael and his team manage over 30 Expert Coaches & Trainers who assist organisations in ‘Attracting, Retaining, Motivating & Activating’ the largest workforce – the Millennials in Sales, Business Development, Online Business, Culture-Building through Teambuilding and Productivity-Performance trainings and engagements.

Prior to his career as a global speaker, advisor and entrepreneur, Michael has worked as a Management Consultant, Outreach Strategy Director and a Brand Consultant. He was also part of the Curator’s Team for Asia’s most successful TEDx event, namely TEDxKL (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) from 2012 to 2014, where his involvement saw the branded global knowledge-sharing platform welcomed over 4,000 attendees to his events combined.

He obtained his tertiary education from New Zealand, aside from attending special educational courses in Harvard University, Stanford University and INSEAD. He is also a Board Member for various public organisations and government-linked foundations, where his knowledge about Human Capital Development and Youths are sought after.