Communication with Shareholders Conclusion Management and Staff 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.  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. 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. 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 CRH 9