Founder of AdvantEdge GmbH
Radek Bak
Creator of The Negotiation Surgery™
I help commercial, sales and key account teams protect margin in procurement-led B2B deals by making buyer decision logic, concession pressure and post-signature value loss visible before control is lost.
From Procurement Insider to Commercial Deal Control Adviser
My career did not start in procurement. It started in Sales and Key Account Management, where I saw commercial teams lose margin to professional buyers who controlled the process, the criteria and the timing.
I later crossed to the other side of the table. For the next two decades, I worked inside senior procurement and sourcing environments, including Amcor and Huhtamaki, managing major spend categories, building sourcing strategies, training buyers and designing procurement playbooks.
That experience changed how I see negotiation. Commercial teams do not usually lose because they lack effort. They lose because the buyer system is already shaping the deal before the formal negotiation begins.
I founded AdvantEdge GmbH to translate that insider procurement knowledge into a supplier-side control system.
The Negotiation Surgery™ is built to help commercial teams see the buyer system, protect margin and regain control before value moves.
Why I Don’t Start With “Win-Win”
In high-stakes deals, “win-win” is often used before the commercial risk is visible. I do not reject collaboration. I reject hope as a strategy.
My first questions are practical: Is the contract profitable? Is the risk controlled? Are concessions traded, priced and governed? If not, the team does not need another negotiation slogan. It needs operational control.
“Legal teams protect you from liability.
I protect your margin from commercial loss.”
Selected Experience Across Both Sides of the Table
-
The Commercial Foundation
Sales & Account Management. Learning the supplier’s pain. Understanding where margin is really hidden before the RFP even starts.
-
The Procurement Leadership Phase
Amcor and Huhtamaki Director Roles. Managed €500M+ spend categories and delivered €62M impact through the Procure Plus Programme. Designed procurement systems that tested supplier preparation, decision discipline and commercial control.
-
The Industry Recognition
Recipient of the Procurement Leaders Awards 2017 in the Internal Transformation category. Recognition for procurement transformation, training impact and operating discipline.
-
The AdvantEdge Phase
Founder of AdvantEdge GmbH. Translating three decades of commercial and procurement experience into The Negotiation Surgery™, a framework that treats negotiation as a control system, not an art form.
Credentials and Operating Background
-
International Operating Background: Born in Poland, shaped by US business culture and based in Switzerland. I work across Western, Central European and emerging-market business contexts.
-
Industry Recognition: Recipient of the Procurement Leaders Award 2017 in the “Internal Transformation” category. Recognised by Amcor as “Most Effective Trainer” and “Most Effective Talent Developer”.
-
Multilingual Command: I negotiate fluently in English and Polish, with working knowledge of German and Russian.
-
Academic Foundation: MBA (University of Maryland), M.A. in International Economics (University of Lodz).
What Professionals Say
“Radek equipped me with a practical framework to approach negotiations with greater intention. I especially valued learning how to identify hidden needs and manage desired outcomes strategically through each phase of the process.”
— Tracy 🇺🇸 • Senior National Account Manager
“This approach showed me how important it is to prepare and ‘draw the corners’. Aspects that were neglected in the past now get much more focus. Radek boosted my ability to recognise the strategies of the opponent party.”
— Sebastian 🇩🇪 • GKAM
“Radek is an effective negotiator. He encouraged us to eliminate the word ‘TRY’ from our dictionary, to avoid just speaking and instead get down to doing things. His advice speaks much of him as a person and his attitude towards work.”
— Yingxiu Ang 🇸🇬 • Commercial Manager (Strategic Vendor Management), Sonepar
Outside the Work
Outside my commercial work, I am a groundhopper and have visited 150+ stadiums across 40 countries. The common thread is observation: how pressure, positioning and momentum shape behaviour in live systems.
You have seen the background. Now let’s discuss where commercial control may be breaking.
I work selectively with organisations ready for an honest review of commercial exposure and decisive action. If the issue is margin leakage under procurement pressure, the first step is to locate where control is breaking.
