Schulich Executive Education Centre, Schulich School of Business, York University Announces Alliance with the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals

Needham, MA, August 5, 2008: Schulich's Executive Education Centre (SEEC), a recognized world leader in Executive Education, has launched the world's first Masters Certificate in Strategic Alliance Management, a 13-day intensive course designed to provide an in-depth, cross-industry perspective of the key strategic, managerial and operational components of a successful alliance management program. The Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP) launched its broad-based professional certication program last year. This program was developed to objectively measure experience and professional knowledge and validate competency in the profession. Now, both organizations have come together to offer a total solution for the alliance professional.

"In the new global economy, there is a tremendous need for highly effective strategic alliance professionals who can help organizations to capitalize on market opportunities that they simply can't address on their own," says Alan Middleton, Executive Director of SEEC. "This new program will help to develop those alliance professionals by offering the most comprehensive alliance education program in an intensive, interactive executive learning environment."

"To improve the ROI from their alliance efforts, leading companies are recognizing the need to raise the level of alliance competency within their organizations," says Art Canter, President and Executive Director of the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals, "Initiatives such as our Certification Program and the Schulich Masters Certificate in Alliance Management have been developed in response to the demand for greater expertise within this rapidly growing profession. We're excited to be a part of this comprehensive program."

As part of the program, participants will be prepared to take the ASAP exam for the Certification Achievement – Alliance Management (CA-AM) designation and will receive a one year membership in ASAP. This membership provides the Alliance Executive with ongoing professional development, access to fellow professionals and best practices.

Faculty for the program has been drawn from North America's leaders in alliance management, spanning the IT, pharmaceuticals, financial and consulting industries, as well as academia. "We are absolutely thrilled with the caliber of our faculty," say Nancy Teodoro and Bryan Reid, Program Directors for the Masters Certificate program. "Alliance thought leaders and practitioners with experience at many of the world's largest companies will share their share their knowledge of alliance best practices and real-life alliance success stories." For more information on the Masters Certificate in Strategic Alliance Management visit www.mastersinalliances.com.
About the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP)
Established in 1999, ASAP is the first and only 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 represents the interests of almost 2,000 strategic alliance professionals around the world.

For more information on ASAP, please visit our website at: www.strategic-alliances.org

About SEEC
As the Executive Education Centre at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, one of the world's top ranked business schools, SEEC is one of only four schools in the world ranked in the top tier of both Executive Education categories (Open-enrolment and Custom Programs) by The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Offering both open and custom programs, SEEC's programs have become an important port of call for public and private organizations who wish to receive the latest business training. Our comprehensive approach to course design and teaching is focused, practical and immediately applicable to the issues that face managers today. SEEC's accomplished faculty is drawn from award-wining teachers, practitioners and business leaders, each an acknowledged innovator in their field of study.

For further information regarding SEEC please visit their website at www.seec.schulich.yorku.ca