Dr Alia Bojilova and two colleagues were taken hostage at gun point in the Golan Heights a decade ago, while serving as United Nations military observers.
Within hours, she managed to negotiate their release, drawing on all her skills as a former New Zealand SAS psychologist.
Alia Bojilova came to New Zealand as a 17 year old from Bulgaria, and during her time with the Defence Force, she worked as Lead Psychologist and officer with the Special Air Service.
Dr Bojilova subsequently left the military and embarked on a PhD at Waikato University, focusing on the concept of resilience.
Since then, she has taken everything she has lived and learned and written a book, The Resilience Toolkit: A proven four-step process to unlock your true potential.