Someone asked me recently, “In a corporate context, what is the perfect organisational placement of an Alliance Management team?” My answer began with “it depends”, because there is no single perfect placement for an alliance management function.
In reality, the ideal placement depends on how a company makes decisions, where power sits, and how partnerships shape its future. Nevertheless, a pattern appears in organisations that manage alliances well. They recognise that alliances operate at two speeds. They are strategic by intent and operational by nature, and any placement that favours one dimension at the expense of the other will create friction.
Many companies begin by locating alliance management close to business development. It feels logical because partnerships often originate there. Yet this positioning can subtly pull the function toward transactions rather than long‑term value creation. The team may excel at launching alliances but lack the independence to challenge misaligned deals or the organisational reach to steer execution across functions. I have also seen organisations embed alliance managers directly in business units. This creates operational intimacy, which is valuable, but it can limit the strategic bandwidth needed to oversee the entire alliance portfolio.
A more effective home is often found within a central strategy function, with clear and active links to the business units. From that altitude, alliance management can view the whole partnership landscape, shape the portfolio over time, and intervene early when misalignment appears. More importantly, the strategic perspective enables the team to say “no” when necessary, something that is hard to do when reporting to the very groups that originate or deliver the partnerships. At the same time, maintaining genuine operational connections with business units ensures the function never becomes a remote corporate layer. Partners encounter a consistent interface, and internal teams know exactly where to turn when coordination is needed.
Some organisations adopt more unconventional placements, such as anchoring the function under the COO to emphasise operational interdependence, or, in research‑driven industries, placing it under R&D leadership to keep scientific alignment tight. These models can work exceptionally well when the rest of the company is tuned to support cross‑functional governance.
So, where is the perfect location for your organisation? The alliance management team should sit wherever it can influence strategic choices, orchestrate execution across boundaries, challenge decisions when required, and reach senior leaders quickly when issues arise.