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Board of his decision well in advance of retirement, Myles has, in line with long-established CRH practice, facilitated the planning and management of his succession in an ordered and timely fashion. The Board has appointed a Committee, which I will chair, to conduct the search for a successor to Myles. 

Kieran McGowan retired from the Board and the Chairmanship following the Annual General Meeting in May 2012. He joined the Board in 1998 and became Chairman in 2007. Kieran’s contribution to CRH was significant during that period and his leadership of the Board during his five years as Chairman was exceptional. 

Heather Ann McSharry became a non-executive Director in February 2012. Further details in relation to the Board are set out in my letter to shareholders in the Corporate Governance section of this Report on page 38. 

## Management and Staff 

Important management changes occurred in the early part of 2012 in the United States. Doug Black was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer, Oldcastle, Inc. (the holding company for CRH’s operations in the Americas), reporting to Mark Towe, Chief Executive Officer of Oldcastle. Randy Lake succeeded Doug as Chief Executive Officer of Americas Materials. Randy, who joined Oldcastle in 1996, most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Oldcastle Building Solutions, which focusses on strategic and national accounts. Keith Haas was appointed Chief Executive Officer of an expanded Oldcastle Building Products group, which consists 

of our Architectural Products, Precast and Building Envelope activities. Keith joined Oldcastle in 1995 and previously had responsibility for our combined APG and Precast activities. This capacity to build from within shows the strength and depth of our management team. 

Our European management team has continued to focus on cost savings initiatives, cash generation and operational excellence in meeting the particularly severe economic downturn in Europe. 

I thank Myles Lee and all CRH employees for their contribution and commitment to the success of the Group. 

## Communication with Shareholders 

My Board colleagues and I place great importance on communicating with shareholders and I was pleased to receive investor feedback during 2012 commending CRH on its corporate governance performance. The various means by which we communicate with shareholders are set out on page 52. A schedule of documents and presentations available on the CRH website is included on page 53. 

In November 2012, CRH organised capital markets days in London and New York. These events provided an opportunity for investors to engage with CRH’s senior executive and Divisional management team. I attended both events, which gave me an opportunity to hear the views of investors in relation to the Group’s performance, strategy and engagement with the investment community. The full suite of presentations and a video recording of executive presentations is available on the CRH website. 

## Conclusion 

Management’s views on the outlook for 2013 are set out in the Chief Executive’s review and the various Operations Reviews. Overall, we expect continued progress in our US and Canadian markets during 2013 and another challenging year for our European Divisions. Management will continue to focus on implementing identified cost savings initiatives and on operational excellence. In the medium to longer term, as economic growth returns, the Group is well positioned to benefit from the significant efforts made by management over recent years. 

Nicky Hartery 25 February 2013 

