ASAP Announces Alliance Management Certification Program

Needham, MA, February 8, 2008: The Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP) has established an Alliance Management Certification Program. The program, which results in a Certification of Achievement – Alliance Management (CA-AM), is available to all members of ASAP in good standing.

The broad-based professional Alliance Management Education and Certification program was developed in response to demands from clients, employers, professionals and partners to set standards of excellence in managing strategic relationships with alliance partners. The examination focuses on the business skills required in alliance management and critical competencies specific to the alliance management function. ASAP offers resources and partner-run training programs to prepare for the online examination.

“As companies seek to become partners of choice, having certified alliance management professionals on staff goes a long way to showing partners just how important alliances are to the organization,” says Mike Leonetti, Chairman of ASAP and Head, Healthcare Partnerships, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. “Our corporate members are able to benefit from this program by decreasing the time to implement alliances, minimizing risks, increasing partner satisfaction and ultimately increasing revenues. Individual members of ASAP also benefit by validating and strengthening their alliance management expertise.”

Qualifications for certification include:
• Membership in ASAP
• At least 3 years experience in managing collaborative relationships

ASAP members can access the exam online by going to www.strategic-alliances.org and signing in to the members-only area of the website. The cost of taking the exam is $175.

About ASAP:
Established in 1999 as a non-profit organization, ASAP is the first professional organization wholly dedicated to the formation and practice of strategic alliances. ASAP provides a forum to exchange alliance best practices, resources, opportunities and offers products that enable members to harness alliances as growth engines that drive corporate performance. ASAP has steadily grown to represent the interests of more than 1,800 strategic alliance professionals around the world.

ASAP's Objectives:
• Create a distinct professional identity for executives and managers of strategic alliances
• Set standards of professional performance in the formation and management of strategic alliances
• Support the professional development of its members by promoting education, communication and fellowship through training and educational programs, conferences, workshops and on-line exchanges
• Create awareness of the contributions of strategic alliances and strategic alliance professionals among corporate managers and executives and among the general public
• Sponsor, conduct, publish and disseminate research regarding advances and best practices in the field of strategic alliances
• Serve as a repository and exchange for resources to support the professional development of its members
• Promote a legal and regulatory environment that is supportive of the development and management of effective strategic alliances


For more information on ASAP, visit www.strategic-alliances.org.