In this 2014 episode, Snehal Desai, then Global Business Director at Dow Water and Process Solutions, reflects on the wide range of partnerships that shaped the business. Dow worked across the full collaboration spectrum, and Snehal explains how each type played a practical role inside the organisation. He also highlights why executive sponsorship is not a formality but a decisive factor in making alliances work, drawing on his own experience as an executive sponsor.

Snehal’s most valuable lessons came from being embedded in an alliance himself. Negotiating a deal may look neat and convincing on paper, yet the real dynamics only surface once the project begins. That is when you discover how the partnership actually behaves under pressure and which resources are genuinely available rather than simply promised.

A central theme he introduces is what he calls the collaboration gene. For him, this ability to work fluidly across boundaries is indispensable for breakthroughs in sustainable development. He encourages anyone interested in cross-organisational or cross-sector collaboration to strengthen those capabilities, because solving complex global problems demands exactly that mix of mindset and skill.

This episode offers a rich set of insights from someone who has lived the reality of alliances and large-scale cooperation.

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