In Spotlight on Anders Kirkeby, Anders—VP and Global Head of Open Innovation at SimCorp—reveals how his background in product, architecture, and technology led him into the world of partnerships. He emphasizes the shift toward open ecosystem models, curating alliances that deliver client value with minimal complexity. Anders also shares insights about integrating APIs, evaluating partner fit, and how partnerships will become central in enabling scalable innovation in finance and tech.

In “OKR Planning Without Stress: The Psychology Behind It”, the article explores how to set Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) in a way that reduces anxiety and maximizes motivation. By tapping into psychological frameworks like clarity of purpose, manageable pacing, and intrinsic reward systems, it shows professionals how to craft goals that inspire rather than overwhelm. The piece also helps leaders and individual contributors approach goal-setting with intention, resilience, and mental wellbeing at the core

In “5 Pitfalls of OKRs in Partnerships, and How to Overcome Them”, Yulia Lenina draws from over two years of applying OKRs in alliances to expose the most frequent missteps—and offers corrective strategies. She highlights traps like conflating inputs, outputs, and outcomes; focusing solely on activity without tying to impact; lacking measurement tools; and misjudging your influence. Each pitfall is paired with practical guidance on structuring goals, aligning metrics, and collaborating with partners to ensure your OKRs truly drive results.

In “February Check-In: How to Avoid Losing Focus on Business Planning?”, Elise Carbone explores how you can keep your early-year business goals alive and relevant. She acknowledges that as the weeks go by, day-to-day urgencies can derail long-term plans. To counter that, Elise recommends regular check-ins, treating your plan as a flexible guide, anchoring decisions in data, balancing long-term goals with quick wins, and welcoming feedback and adjustments. These tactics help you stay aligned with partners and maintain strategic momentum throughout the year.

In “3 Tips for Better Planning in Alliances,” Yulia Lenina shares actionable strategies to make your partnership planning sharper and more strategic. She emphasizes starting with data—understanding key metrics like active partner count and revenue contributions—then aligning your alliance goals with your organization’s top priorities. Finally, she highlights the importance of identifying and using your “levers” — internal teams, partner relationships, and market insights — to turn planning into impactful action.

Each December, Women in Alliances refreshes its leadership and strategy for the coming year. In Women in Alliances — Chair for 2025, we introduce Carrie White, one of WIA’s founding members, as the new Chair. Carrie previously led operations and played a central role in organizing the 2023 summit. In her new role, she will develop a bold agenda of activities, events, and speaker engagements — all designed to help you expand your network, sharpen your skills, and thrive in the alliances ecosystem. She currently leads partner success at Vena Solutions, managing strategy, execution, and growth across 10+ partner relationships.

In “Meet Petra Dolejsova — Our Stockholm Chapter Lead,” Petra shares her journey from Prague to Stockholm and her 17+ years’ experience in tech and partnership roles. Now at Sinch, she leads the Partner Program and brings her multicultural perspective to women in alliances. Petra recounts joining WIA during COVID, inspiring the first chapter outside London, and growing a vibrant Stockholm community hosting events and workshops. She invites women in the region to connect, learn, and grow together under her chapter leadership.

In “Meet Danielle Simon — Our NYC Chapter Lead,” Danielle shares her path to leadership in partnership operations and programs, and how she became lead of the Women in Alliances NYC chapter. She’s passionate about building communities, fostering meaningful connections, and empowering women in the partner ecosystem. Under her leadership, the NYC chapter will host events, knowledge sessions, and local meetups to support networking and growth for alliance professionals in the region.

In Spotlight on Corinne Cassidy, she recounts her pivot from Business Development at Alcatel during the dot-com downturn into leading partner strategies. Corinne highlights what she loves most—diversity of tasks, cross-functional collaboration, and building lasting partner relationships—and candidly addresses challenges like educating organizations on complementary partner sales. She also shares her core strengths (communication, persistence, creative problem-solving), and offers advice to aspiring alliance professionals: build trust across internal teams, become an advocate for both your company and your partners, and lean into complementary skills.

In Spotlight on Amelia Alicja Pilkington, Amelia explains how her interest in technology and innovation led her from web development, prompt engineering, and project management into ecosystem partnerships. In her role as an Ecosystems Pre-Sales Solution Architect, she collaborates with partners to create joint value propositions while staying deeply involved in the technical side. Amelia discusses what she loves most—the creativity, relationship building, and cross-team collaboration—and the challenges of establishing credibility early in a partnership career. She emphasizes transparency, listening, and initiative as key traits, and encourages aspiring professionals to persevere, build relationships, and find mentors who will believe in them.

In Spotlight on Adna Mesic, Adna shares her unexpected journey into partnerships—beginning as a contract manager in a FinTech company and later stepping into a Partner Manager role at Quinyx. She highlights what she loves most: the 360° visibility across sales, marketing, product, and implementation, the entrepreneurial freedom to shape programs, and the challenge of aligning a partnership function in a company new to alliances. Adna points to attributes like relationship building, clear communication, and approachability as key to her success. She underscores the importance of in-person networking to build trust, and advises those breaking into partnerships to stay curious, strategic, and open to many different tasks.

In “Spotlight on Rania Parousi”, Rania reflects on her journey from sales into a full partnerships role, a transition guided by her knack for building relationships and integrating partner strategies. She says the part she loves most is the daily conversations with diverse partners and seeing what collective impact a well-orchestrated ecosystem can deliver. Her biggest challenge? Aligning the priorities of multiple stakeholders and navigating complex organizational structures. Rania points to trust, constant communication, and ideation sessions as her core strengths, and underscores the vital role of both in-person and virtual networking in building meaningful connections. She believes partnerships will only grow in importance in the coming years, and she’s committed to supporting more women in the field through mentoring, speaking, and being active in forums like Women in Alliances.

In Spotlight on Lisa Farmer, she reveals how a career in sales led her naturally into partnerships. Lisa shares what she loves most — collaboration, learning, and problem-solving — and the importance of executive buy-in for partnership success. Her advice: build trust, stay patient, and align partnerships with real business impact.