Customizing the
vyuha

Founder's Bio

Pavan Katkar founded knegotiations with the core mission of providing simple insights and specific advice to those seeking to evolve out of their conflicts, crises, or hostage situations.

Pavan in robes; early days of monkhood

Before renewing his vows as a monk, Pavan received a Ph.D. from RAND Corporation, a Master's degree from the Department of War Studies at King's College London, and a Bachelor's in Engineering from the National Institute of Engineering in India. Also, he was employed as a Researcher at a couple of think tanks in the US and in India, and as a senior software engineer for a few years prior to that.

(pre-monkhood) Pavan at RAND Corporation; presenting his research

At RAND Corporation, he invested his time in researching and modeling the illegal behaviour associated with tax evasion. In his doctoral research, he focused on identifying the policy implications and applications of blockchain & cryptocurrencies. At King's College, he spent a majority of his time understanding the causes of war, national security, and the role of ethical hacking and reverse engineering in protecting a nation's critical infrastructure.

(after renewing vows) Pavan training police personnel on cyber crime investigations in India

At knegotiations, he brings his expertise in engineering, warfare, criminal behaviour, and a deeper understanding of the human mind to bear in advising those who are sincerely trying to evolve out of the conflicts, crises, or cyber-hostage situations that they may be stuck in. When he is not too busy with advising patrons on their negotiations, conducting workshops on reverse engineering, or researching for and writing a manuscript, you are likely to find him going on one or the other pilgrimages in India.

Pavan in robes; walking with a lassi in his hand

During those pilgrimages he spends a fair amount of time studying and meditating upon some of the scriptures considered sacred in the esoteric shākta paramparā, which reveal truths that are directly applicable in arriving at deeper insights into The Mind and in gaining a greater control over one's negotiations.

Pavan 'leckthuring' to students on business negotiations using black board and chalk

Research & Advisory Portfolio

{Cyber} Hostage Negotiations
Business Negotiations
Conflict Interlocution
Artificial Intelligence
Executive Coaching
Advanced Strategy
Crisis Navigation
Meditation, and
धर्म अर्थ ಕಾಮ ಮೋಕ್ಷಃ