The Summit Tapestry

If you’ve had a chance to check out the agenda for our 2023 ASAP Global Alliance Summit coming up in Tampa—and I hope you have!—you’ve probably seen a few familiar faces: well-respected alliance thought leaders featured at previous Summits who always have terrific insights to share with our member community. But I hope you also noticed the special things we have in store for you this year.

Take the keynote address that will open up the conference on April 3, for example. In “Leading from the Middle: Managing People and Organizations,” Lt. Col. Andrew Farina, a West Point US Army officer and veteran of multiple tours overseas (including two in Afghanistan), will show that, contrary to popular belief, Army officers have to use the arts of influence—part of the alliance professional’s stock in trade—in order to manage teams and get things done. In other words, they don’t just order people around!

More Than Meets the Eye

This will be a unique presentation—but it’s far from the only one, and just one of the highlights I’m excited about. As usual, this year’s Summit will dive into the topics that are vital to alliance professionals at all levels, but it will also explore emerging themes that are getting ink in the business press and airtime in corporate boardrooms and conference rooms around the globe.

For example, we’ll have Kevin Oliver, COO of Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, talking about “Changing Alliance Paradigms on the Global Stage.” Then there’s Professor Stefanie Schubert from SRH University Heidelberg on alliance friction and game theory. Alliance thought leaders Nick Palmer and Knut Sturmhoefel on complex alliances. Professor Ard-Pieter de Man (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and Leona Kral (chief connections officer, Mycelia Solutions) on the difference between alliance and ecosystem capabilities. Consultants and authors Nancy Ridge and Norma Watenpaugh on driving customer value through partner experience. Plus a great panel of folks from Jazz Pharmaceuticals on how to leverage the skills and abilities of diverse teams to create alliance success.

Honestly, that barely scratches the surface. One of the panels you absolutely won’t want to miss is “Together We Rise: Igniting the Journey to Alliance Leadership,” featuring four stellar female partnering leaders talking honestly about the particular challenges facing women and others who are setting their sights on alliance leadership and roles of higher responsibility. Christina Neary of Avanade will moderate, and I can’t wait to see it.

From the tech-oriented to the biopharma-based to cross-industry sessions, it’s an embarrassment of riches. Once again this year we’re delighted to have Jay McBain—the leading analyst of alliances, ecosystems, and channels for Canalys and long an ASAP audience favorite—telling us what to look out for and predicting what’s ahead in the rapidly oncoming future of partnering and digital transformation.

There’ll be master classes taught by Jeff Shuman and Jan Twombly from The Rhythm of Business, and Ben Siddall and Jessica Wadd from Vantage Partners. Plus eight different roundtables on each of the two days of the conference!

The Big Picture

If I’m going a bit overboard touting the Summit, forgive me—though it’s well worth the touting! But just let me make one more point, if I may. The Summit, great as it is, and eagerly anticipated each year, is just one part of a bigger picture. That picture includes, of course, our other conferences—the ASAP BioPharma Conference and the ASAP European Alliance Summit—but also all of our virtual programming (webinars, roundtables, Collaborative Connection Monthly programs, Coffee Chats, Mug & Mingles), plus our workshops and master classes and the wealth of editorial content our team is busy putting out year-round. That includes this blog, our Strategic Alliance Quarterly magazine, and the members-only Strategic Alliance Monthly.

In my mind, this big picture is like one of those large Renaissance tapestries composed of many intricate, colorful threads: all of our programming, our conferences, our editorial output, our education and certification programs, and The ASAP Handbook and supplements and other books and resources you’ll find in the ASAP Store. It’s a rich picture, for sure!

We Want You!

But the picture just isn’t the same without you: our ASAP members and conference attendees. In fact there’s no substitute for the in-person networking that’s positively overflowing at the Summit—the connections people make are valuable in and of themselves, in ways you can’t predict ahead of time. That person you’re sipping Chardonnay with might just be your next partner, a future colleague, or an experienced practitioner whose insights over hors d’oeuvres might change your perspective on the alliances you’ve been managing. You just never know.

So if I sing the praises of the Summit, I guess it’s because I like to think there’s something there for everybody, no matter what vertical they’re in or what phase of their career journey. Something that will help them to get a little better at what they do, every day. And isn’t that what we all want?

That wonderful tapestry, with its many colorful threads, is actually woven by all of you: our ASAP community. You help us create the rich experience we all have together, which is a beautiful thing indeed. As for me, I’m really looking forward to these upcoming presentations—and to seeing everyone together again in Tampa!