Intermediate

Applied Alliance Management

Grounded in the ASAP Alliance Life Cycle framework, the course focuses on disciplined implementation, governance preparation, issue management, and partner alignment. Participants deepen their understanding of how strategy translates into execution and how structured processes improve consistency, performance, and results. 

Relevant across industries and global markets, the program equips experienced practitioners to manage alliances with greater rigor and predictability. 

This course reinforces decision discipline at every stage of the alliance journey and prepares qualified professionals to sit for the CA-AM certification exam. 

ASAP courses are led by senior practitioners who bring real-world experience across industries and partnership models.  

Faculty include former and current heads of alliances and senior alliance executives; leaders from technology life sciences, industrial, and services organizations; and ASAP-certified instructors with decades of hands-on alliance management experience. 

Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)

Annick De Swaef, CSAP, CA-AM

As the Managing Director and Transition Executive at Yocoto BV in Belgium, Annick excels at enhancing corporate collaborative capabilities and restoring focus and balance during times of organizational upheaval. She specializes in guiding companies through critical transitions, such as leadership changes, restructuring, and strategic pivots, all while ensuring that human values remain central to corporate decision-making. Before joining Yocoto, Annick served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Belgian Road Research Centre, as well as founder of Consensa Consulting.

Annick is a longstanding member of ASAP's Advisory Council and is a recipient of one of ASAP's highest honors, the Alliance Excellence Award for Outstanding Service and Achievement. She speaks Dutch, French and English.

Ruben Santos Garcia, CSAP, CA-AM

Ruben is a senior corporate development executive with a career spanning global health, biopharma and medtech, and international development. He has held leadership roles in alliance management, external affairs, and business development at organizations including Sobi, Roche, and the United Nations. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to MIT’s pioneering venture Precision, Sex-based Medicine (PRiSM), where he engages strategic partners and shapes ecosystem development to accelerate progress and impact in women’s health.

He specializes in strengthening corporate collaborative capabilities and building resilient, high-performing cross-sector alliances and multi-stakeholder partnerships. A trained partnership broker, he also supports AI-native start-ups and organizations at the frontier of technology, global development and innovation.

Ruben is based in Switzerland and speaks Spanish, Italian, German, and English.

United States

Christine Klatt, CSAP, CA-AM

Christine Klatt provides companies with guidance on how to make the most of their collaborations as the Principal of Carberry Consulting, while also teaching alliance management at Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, King's College London, and GDMP Academy. She was previously Chief Operating Officer at Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, SVP for Program and Alliance Management at FORUM Pharmaceuticals, and VP for Program and Alliance Management at Biogen.

Christine is a prior member of ASAP's Board of Directors, having also served as Board Chair in 2019-2020. 

Lynda McDermott, CA-AM

Lynda McDermott is President of EquiPro International, Ltd., an international management consulting firm which specializes in leadership, team, and business development for Fortune 500, medium-size companies and professional services firms.  She is also an executive coach and alliance management consultant for organizations in strategic partnerships and joint ventures. Lynda is co-author of the best-selling book World Class Teams.

Swati Prasad, PhD, CSAP, CA-AM

Dr. Swati Prasad is Director, Alliance Management at Alloy Therapeutics. A strategic alliance leader with 20+ years of experience across the pharmaceutical, biotech, CRO, and life sciences industries, she specializes in building partnerships, leading complex collaborations, and driving business outcomes across the drug development lifecycle. Prior to Alloy, she drove portfolio value creation and operational excellence through cross-functional leadership roles at Mosaic Neuroscience, Charles River Laboratories, and AstraZeneca R&D Boston. She holds a doctorate in chemistry from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and an MBA from Wilmington University.

Ann Trampas, CSAP, CA-AM

Ann Trampas is a Professional Development Practice Lead for Phoenix Consulting and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). As Practice Lead, Ann develops and teaches courses on collaboration and relationship management, and helps organizations strengthen their strategic alliances. At UIC, she teaches Channels of Distribution and Ecommerce, Marketing, Sales Management and Business Strategy. She is also a faculty member of the American Management Association, where she facilitates a variety of business courses.

Ann is a member of the Technical Advisory Group for the ISO 44001 standard for Collaborative Business. She is a member of the ASAP Course Development, Instructor, and Handbook Working Groups. 

Asia Pacific

Phil Sack, CSAP, CA-AM

Phil Sack is the Managing Director of CollaboRare, an independent management consulting firm specializing in sales transformation, strategy & go-to-market, ecosystems and alliances, and business advisory services across Asia Pacific. His experience building and executing successful strategies, start-ups, ecosystems, and partnerships in the tech sector has resulted in numerous global IT vendor and independent industry awards. Phil’s education credentials include an executive MBA, Bachelor of Business & Computing, Associate Diploma of Engineering, Certified Strategic Alliance Professional, Member of Institute of Collaborative Working, and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

Phil is a current member of ASAP's Advisory Council, and is the co-founder and longtime president of ASAP's Asia Collaborative Business Community.