2009 was a year that most of us would just as soon forget. It saw the demise of great brands like Pontiac, Kodachrome, and Buell; U.S. unemployment to 10%; and the failure of over 140 banks in the U.S. alone. But what will 2010 hold for businesses? Will it be a fundamentally different operating environment, as many have suggested?

MAPI surveyed member CEOs, CFOs, and division presidents to help them understand what their peers expect to be the top challenges facing their organizations in 2010. Highlights include:

• The most highly rated opportunities for growth in 2010 are new product development, emerging markets in developing countries, winning new customers, and M&A.
• Members are more bearish on the growth prospects from growing existing customers, existing markets in industrialized countries, JVs/alliances, and stimulus opportunities.
• A majority (84%) feel that they are well positioned to take market share in 2010, and 72% plan to enter into new markets.
• Despite much ink being spilt about the “new normal”, only 27% of members feel that their markets have fundamentally changed as a result of the recession.
• 19% feel that investment cuts have hindered their company’s ability to grow, and only 11% feel that headcount reductions have hampered future growth prospects.
• The forces that pose the greatest threat to growth in 2010 are weak demand in industrialized economies, and customers who are under economic stress.
• Only 6% are planning to allocate additional resources to pandemic flu issues.

For more information, contact author Cam Mackey.