CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT: GROWTH ENVIRONMENT

Frost & Sullivan's experience indicates the primary challenges for corporate development professionals revolve around their responsibilities for merger and acquisition (M&A) activities and the development of strategic alliances and partnerships. The corporate development professional struggles to address the wide range of issues involved in actualizing value through M&A activity: identifying targets early, aligning acquisition strategy with corporate strategy, and creating a robust acquisition integration process. Additionally, corporate development professionals are driven to create an objective process for identifying the "right" strategic partners. Frost & Sullivan believes the value of M&A activities is a major component of the growth process.