A Harmonic Convergence in Cape Coral

asapsummit.orgIs it the convergence of Big Pharma, Big Tech, and Big Healthcare? Is it the coming together of the big and the small, the one and the many, biopharma and AI, ecosystems and portfolios…

Or is it just the convergence of everything?

The correct answer is “yes to all.” What’s definitely about to converge later this month in Cape Coral, Fla., will be a whole lot of people whose careers and professional interests are devoted to partnering and collaborations: all kinds, from one-to-one strategic alliances on up to massive, multipartner ecosystems…and everything in between.

What is this magical, mystical, harmonic convergence that’s happening? It’s the ASAP Global Alliance Summit, of course. I like to think of it as “the place to be for all things partnering,” and I’m not alone.

Feel the Burn

Here’s another way to think about it: It’s the place to go to get your burning alliance management and partnering questions answered. Questions like:

• How do you successfully (and profitably) orchestrate your partner ecosystem? Check out the much-anticipated keynote by Janet Schijns of JSG on April 30 to find out from someone who knows.
• What are the alliance challenges posed by cybersecurity threats, and how should alliance professionals tackle them? The several distinguished panelists from Jazz Pharmaceuticals will provide their insights in a discussion moderated by Lauren Griffey, CA-AM.
• If three partners walk into an alliance…what’s the punchline? And can they create mutual value? John Baird, PhD (PTC Therapeutics), Karen Chen, PhD (Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation), and Christoph Sarry, CSAP, PhD (F. Hoffmann–La Roche Ltd.), will escort us through those swinging saloon doors and safely out the other side.
• How can AI-related partnerships and emerging technologies be leveraged to drive precision healthcare? Lynn Richard, CSAP, of GE Healthcare (and ASAP’s board of directors) will give us the latest, greatest, and up-to-datest.
• Will the power of partnerships really change everything? Were you ever in any doubt? The answer is a ringing yes, according to our first keynote speaker on May 1, Joy Wilder Lybeer, formerly of Equifax.
• Are individual voices—including dissenting ones—actually crucial to how the most successful organizations are led? Brad Anderson, former CEO of Best Buy, will talk about what’s possible and what’s needed in the second May 1 keynote.

Skills, Thrills, and Masterful Chills

Skills? Tools, technologies, and techniques? Yes, please! An April 30 panel moderated by Michael Moser of allianceboard will dive into this topic, and it’s our considered judgment that Neil Blecherman, CSAP, of Nutanix, will do the same—but from another angle entirely.

Coopetition? Jamie Donald, CSAP (Axis Communications), and Jessica Wadd (BDO) have you covered. Platform partnerships? Clare Murray and Hélène Svahnqvist, CA-AM, of Life Edit are there for you. Partner advisory councils—what’s that, you say? Molly Black of Guidewire and Mary Tate of Phoenix Consulting Group will flip the switch and bring on the enlightenment.

Alliance kickoffs: Yes! A triumphant trio from Eli Lilly will tee it up for you. Governance meetings? Quite. A quality quartet from Biogen will quell your qualms. In quest of mastery? Look no further than the masterful master classes presented on April 30 by Adam Kornetsky and Ben Siddall of Vantage Partners (negotiation, communication, and influence), and on May 1 by Jeff Shuman, CSAP, PhD, and Jan Twombly, CSAP, of The Rhythm of Business (measuring and managing alliance portfolios). Gives me chills just thinking about it!

Alliance Awakening: The Road to Wellness Starts Here

What did I leave out? A lot, actually. This barely scratches the surface of what’s in store for the ASAP community at the Summit this year. There’s much more on ecosystems, alliance transformation and strategic change, tech certification challenges, alliance managers as excellent integrators…

And in addition to the usual networking and connection opportunities ASAP conferences are known for, along with receptions, lunches, breaks, resource tables, roundtables with more burning discussion topics, and other activities…hey, there’s cornhole and ping-pong! A morning wellness session (thank you Leona Kral, CSAP)! (And morning coffee for those, like me, for whom “wellness” = strong, hot java.) There’s even a conference-closing meetup this year: collaborative, convivial, conclusively cordial, and a darned good way to end a great conference.

Oh—and maybe, just maybe, there might be a special announcement about future ASAP conference plans, locations, programming, dreams, transcendent shining visions…. Could it be? Could it BE??? (Cue the polka dots and moonbeams, unicorns and stars….)

Get Serious, Wouldja?

All right, so what’s the key takeaway here? Just this:

The time is nigh. The hour is almost at hand. The days and weeks are dwindling and the countdown has begun. Your partnering destination? Cape Coral, Fla., for the 2024 ASAP Global Alliance Summit, April 29–May 1. Come soak up the learning, embrace the future, hug a palm tree, and bask in the welcoming warmth of your fellow alliance and partnering folk: Your people! Your posse! Your tribe!

Don’t be left alone out in the cold…register today and we’ll see you there!