1998 Alliance Conference Agenda

 

The Conference Board and Booz·Allen & Hamilton


Present

The 1998 Strategic Alliances Conference:

Tailoring Your Alliance Approach: From Strategic Sourcing Through Shared Equity

April 30 & May 1,1998
Grand Hyatt, New York City

Join your colleagues to explore and discuss:
· Implementing alliances and acquisitions
· Strategic sourcing -- "Why, when and how an alliance with suppliers should be considered"
· Equity positions ­ "When and how to raise the stakes in the game"
· Governance and crafting an agreement ­ "Looking carefully before You leap"
· The art of choosing the most appropriate alliance
· The impact of alliances on the firm

Dear Internet Web Surfer:

Until the 1990's, the relationship between a company and its competitors, customers and suppliers was consistently at arms-length. Today, few companies believe they alone can develop, manufacture, market, and deliver the products and services their businesses require. To stay ahead of the competition, companies are reaching out to partners for complementary resources and capabilities they lack. For most of these companies, choosing the appropriate alliance structure -- from a simple procurement arrangement to a strategic sourcing relationship or an equity partnership -- is a relatively new art and represents one of their biggest challenges.

Our fourth annual conference on strategic alliances focuses on the practical aspects of tailoring your alliance approach, covering strategic sourcing through shared equity. Through a series of case studies and practical interactive sessions, you'll receive the latest in thinking about alliance tools: such as, alliance structures, organizational designs, governance issues and best practices. Find out how senior managers at leading companies have formed and managed a wide range of alliances. Listen to personal experiences that go beyond ad-hoc transactions to a well-established set of alliance forming skills and processes. Learn how top-rated companies have developed the capability to leapfrog their competitors and increase significantly their alliance's success rate.

We look forward to seeing you in New York.

Sincerely,

Ronald M. Cowin
Conference Program Director
The Conference Board

John Harbison
Vice President
Booz·Allen & Hamilton

Thursday, April 30, 1998

Session A: Keynote Address
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 am
A View From The Top

Alliances are one of the most effective ways for companies to access capabilities and new markets and reduce costs and uncertainty without a significant investment risk. Companies no longer have the resources or time to rely on just internal capabilities. However, choosing the most appropriate alliance type and structure can be very complicated, requiring a clear understanding of the types of alliances available, their characteristics and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Hear about the importance of different alliance types and how they are linked to the overall strategic thrust of a company.

Brian Merriman
Chief Executive Officer
TOPAC U.S.A., Inc.
And Vice President, General Manager
Electronic Imaging Division
Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.

 

10 - 10:30 am Networking Coffee Break

 

Session B
10:30a.m. - 12:00p.m.
Implementing Alliances and Acquisitions:

Many alliances and acquisitions make strategic sense and are successfully negotiated, only to fall apart during implementation. In fact, this is the largest cause of failure in alliances and acquisitions. The key is successful implementation planning during negotiations, and timely attention and follow-through after the deal is consummated. In this session, you will receive the results of a current survey of best practices in the area of implementation, supplemented by multiple studies of nearly 6,000 U.S. and overseas alliances for more than 500 American and foreign companies and scores of alliance client assignments.

Speakers from Booz·Allen & Hamilton will describe the latest frameworks and thinking on successfully implementing alliances, and how your approach should be tailored to suit the specific form of alliance being implemented.

John Harbison
Vice President
Booz·Allen & Hamilton

Peter Pekar
Senior Advisor to
Booz·Allen & Hamilton

 

Session C
12:00 noon - 1:30 pm
Luncheon Session

Using Alliances to Enter Emerging Markets


Peter Harf
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Coty Inc.

 

Concurrent Sessions D1, D2 and D3

Session D1
1:45 - 3:15 pm
Strategic Sourcing -- Why, When & How An Alliance With Suppliers Should Be Considered

Outsourced parts, materials and services account for a major portion of costs at several companies. Getting a handle on how to drive continuous reductions in these costs is an important business issue. However, most companies deal with suppliers at arms length and are not able to realize the full extent of what the suppliers can do for them. Yet, the right type of sourcing arrangement with selected suppliers (a strategic sourcing framework) can drive substantial improvements not only in costs, but also in quality and time. An alliance with suppliers can apply across the entire value chain of the business ­ from customer understanding to product/service development and distribution.

In this session, speakers will discuss their first-hand experience working closely with suppliers in up-front marketing, planning and engineering activities. They will describe the financial, contractual, technical, and cultural problems with making integration happen. They will outline the methodologies they used to realize substantial improvements in performance, and address how to get started and measure results.

Alex G. Wijnen
President and Chief Executive Officer
Vivitar Corporation

Walter J. Sargent
Corporate Chief Manufacturing Engineer
Xerox Corporation



Session D2
1:45 - 3:15 pm
Equity Positions - When and How to Raise the Stakes in the Game

Equity based alliances present a unique set of challenges. Some proponents maintain an equity commitment solidifies the relationship by placing skin in the game. Equity also can indicate a willingness to explore a widening of possibilities in which the partners could collaborative further. Others find using equity is a very expensive and risky way to forge deeper ties or gain access to a partner's capabilities. In this session, an attorney and a business executive will share some practical advice on the use of equity -- why chose equity over non-equity and what pitfalls to avoid.


Fred H. Marcusa
Senior Partner
Kay Scholer

Richard E. Murphy
Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing and
Chief Commercial Officer
Sea-Land Service, Inc.

Session D3
1:45 - 3:15 pm
Governance and Crafting an Agreement - Looking Carefully Before You Leap

Governance goes well beyond the issues of management and control. To make the partnership successful, some major items always need to be considered before signing an agreement. Speakers in this session will describe how highly respected, alliance intensive companies have addressed key governance issues and crafted effective agreements. A legal firm, specializing in alliance formation, will share what it has learned.

James G. Archer
Partner
Sidley & Austin

Phillip A. Spanninger
Vice President, International
TRW Inc.



3:15 - 3:30 pm Coffee Break

 

Concurrent Sessions (E1, E2 and E3)
Sessions D1-D3 are repeated to give you an opportunity to attend another session.


Session E1
3:30 - 5 pm
Strategic Sourcing -- Why, When & How - Characteristics, Risks, Implications, Results and Models for Success

Session E2
3:30 - 5 pm
Equity Positions - When and How to Raise the Stakes in the Game

Session E3
3:30 - 5 pm
Governance and Crafting an Agreement - Looking Carefully Before You Leap
5 - 6 pm
Network Reception
Hosted by Booz·Allen & Hamilton Inc.

 

Friday, May 1, 1998

Session F
9 - 10 pm
General Session

Another View From The Top: Impact of Various Alliances on the Firm

Choosing and managing the wide range of alliance options -- from a strategic sourcing relationship, through minority arrangements and equity partnership -- is a relatively new art and represents one of the biggest challenges to companies. Alliances demand flexibility in your company's structure, culture, management systems and processes. In this session you will hear from a company that has been particularly successful managing these factors in its use of alliances.

Charles Sirois
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Telesystem Ltd. and Teleglobe Inc.

 

10 - 10:30 am Networking Coffee Break

 

Session G
10:30 - 11:45 am
General Session

The Art of Choosing The Most Appropriate Alliance

Within the broad world of "Extended Enterprises," strategic alliances fill the middle ground between traditional procurement and acquisitions. Today, alliances cover a wide spectrum of non-equity, cross-equity, minority positions and shared-equity arrangements. As one moves along the continuum from non-equity to equity, the key issues become -- How does one select the most appropriate alliance for a situation? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each alliance type? What are the specific structuring considerations that must be addressed?

In this session, you will hear specific observations from an experienced alliance practitioner. He will discuss the differences between non-equity & equity alliances, how to pick the most appropriate alliance, and how companies can improve their own odds for success.

Rohan Champion
Vice President, Strategy and Alliances
Federal Express Corporation

Session H
11:50 - 12:30 pm

General Session

Summary of Lessons Learned and Conference Wrap-Up

Alliance capabilities are an asset, a true competitive advantage. Like other capabilities, they need to be developed and continuously improved. Hear a summary of the key tools and techniques, and messages presented at the conference so you can take them back to your company.

* * * * *

About The Conference Board

The Conference Board is the world's leading business membership organization, connecting companies in more than 60 nations. Founded in 1916, the Board's twofold purpose is to improve the business enterprise system and enhance the contribution of business to society A non-profit, non-advocacy organization, The Conference Board's membership includes over 2,800 companies and other organizations worldwide.

Why Our Meetings Are Different

For more than 80 years, The Conference Board has been providing senior executives from around the world with opportunities to share practical business experience. This focus on actual business experience, rather than theory, and a superior level of networking with peers are the distinguishing features of Conference Board meetings. The Conference Board's meetings are rated as one of America's leading speaking platforms for top management. More than 50 CEOs address the Board's 10,000 meeting participants each year.

About Booz·Allen & Hamilton

Booz·Allen & Hamilton is a global management and technology consulting firm committed to helping senior management of industrial, service and government organizations improve their performance and develop capabilities needed to compare and thrive in the global marketplace. Founded in 1914, it is a private corporation wholly owned by its partners. The firm offers technology and commercial business expertise where its multidisciplinary teams approach client assignments from a global perspective, yet each consulting approach is tailored to the specific needs of the client. Its strategic alliances practice works together with clients in selecting, building, deploying, and renewing capabilities --leveraging over 100 best practice elements culled from successful alliance leaders.

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