Ground-Breaking Compensation Survey for Business Professionals Reveals Strategic Alliance Management Professionals in Top-Tier of Compensation

The Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP) is excited to announce the first-ever compensation study on the evolving profession of alliance management professionals. The 2008 ASAP Salary Survey was sponsored by ASAP with results compiled by Astron Solutions.

Strategic alliances play an increasingly critical role in business strategies today. Across the globe, companies are partnering to gain the competitive edge by sharing strengths and resources. The benefits of strategic alliances make this type of business relationship highly attractive. These benefits include the ability to maintain distinct corporate cultures, get to market more quickly, and to minimize risks in volatile economies. Indeed, this specialized field of alliance management is one of the fastest evolving growing professions as organizations look to discover new ways of doing business.

The success of strategic alliances is highly dependent on several factors, most importantly the skill set of the managers. Strategic alliance managers need certain core competencies such as the ability to build and maintain trust across organizations, portfolio management, and negotiation. It is currently estimated that there are 40,000 alliance managers in the United States and 200,000 alliance managers worldwide.

The 2008 ASAP Salary Survey is the result of compensation data reported by 43 major corporations within the United States, encompassing 925 incumbents in 5 benchmark positions. Overall, the individuals represented in the 2008 survey are a well-educated, experienced group of individuals. For the most part incumbents typically have at least 10 years experience in the alliance field. For all five positions, a very high percentage of incumbents have received a Master's degree or beyond as their highest educational level.

Other key findings include:

• The majority of participating companies (44.2%) have up to 10,000 employees.
• The largest industry groups represented in the survey are Information Technology (37.2%) and Pharmaceutical (25.6%).
• Average base ranges from $87, 041 for the entry level Alliance Manager position to $200,000 for the Senior Managers of Strategic Alliances.

This comprehensive salary survey is available for purchase through the ASAP website for $795 (non-members) and $595 (members). An executive summary is also available.

About Astron Solutions

Astron Solutions is a New York-based consulting firm dedicated to the delivery of human resources consulting services and supportive technology. Astron's focus is to develop and implement human resources programs that support the strategic directions of organizations through the creation of a positive employee relations environment. Astron Solutions offers organizations a complete, customized human resources package including advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly web- and PC-based software. For more information, www.astronsolutions.com.

About Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals

The Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP) is the leading global professional organization dedicated to alliance formation and management. Founded in 1999, ASAP currently has over 2,000 members with 8 regional US chapters and 5 international chapters. The organization holds conferences throughout the year, including a Global Alliance Summit, focusing on best practices, case studies in alliances, and networking. For more information, www.strategic-alliances.org.