National Grid 2014 Annual Report Download - page 5

Strategic Report Corporate Governance Financial Statements Additional Information
Nick Winser, Executive Director UK, will step down
from the Board in July 2014 at the AGM. He will
continue with his roles as President of the European
Network of Transmission System Operators for
Electricity (ENTSO-E) and as Chairman of National
Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) and National
Grid Gas (NGG) through to July 2015 before leaving
the Company. After July 2015, the role of President
of ENTSO-E will no longer be undertaken within the
Company, and arrangements for a smooth handover
of Nick’s other responsibilities will beannounced in
due course.
This year we have welcomed Therese Esperdy and
John Pettigrew to our Board and we will be saying
goodbye to Maria Richter following the AGM.
During Maria’s 10 years with the Company she has
made a significant contribution to the Board and
Finance Committee in particular and I would like to
thank her for her commitment and wish her all the
best in her future endeavours.
Therese, who will be taking over as chairman of the
Finance Committee from Maria, brings a wealth of
corporate finance and debt market experience to
our Board. We have also appointed a new Executive
Director, John Pettigrew. John joined National Grid
as a graduate entrant in 1991 and has been a
member of the Executive Committee for nearly
twoyears.
The appointments of Therese and John have been
part of a significant transition of the Board over the
last three years through which we have secured a
broad range of skills, experience, perspectives and
challenge. Together with strong teamwork, I believe
these qualities are contributing towards an effective
Board, which will continue to set the right tone from
the top, helping to meet the challenges ahead.
Being a responsible business
Our vision statement ‘Connecting you to your energy
today, trusted to help you meet your energy needs
tomorrow’ emphasises the importance of trust,
which we earn not just by meeting our commitments,
but by making sure that we do so in the right way.
That is why how we work is as important as what
wedo, and why doing the right thing is at the core
ofeverything we do.
During 2013/14 we spent time reinforcing the
standards we expect of our employees in terms
ofethical behaviour. As part of this, we have sent
ouremployees a refreshed copy of ‘Doing the
RightThing’, which is our guide to ethical
businessconduct.
We contribute to the communities in which we
operate directly and indirectly in many ways. We
maintain and operate the critical infrastructure
needed to keep the lights on and the heating
working across the UK and northeastern US; we
employ more than 23,000 people; and in 2013/14
contributed £1.4 billion in taxes in the UK alone.
Additionally, we estimate we support more than
28,500 jobs in the first tier of our supply chain –
companies that are our suppliers across the globe.
We aim to develop and operate our business with
aninclusive and diverse culture. You can read
moreabout our approach to diversity on page 41,
aswell as our Board diversity policy on page 56.
Looking ahead
Over the next 12 months the UK and US will see
adynamic political environment. In the UK, the
Scottish independence referendum later this year
and the general election in 2015 are likely to increase
the focus on issues such as the affordability and
security of energy supply, as will the proposed
review of the energy industry by the Competition
andMarkets Authority.
In the US, the mid-term US Congressional elections
are on the horizon, together with the gubernatorial
elections (election of the state governor) in New
York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. We expect
debate to continue on essential infrastructure,
resilience and sustainability, including our Connect21
dialogue with stakeholders. You can read more
about Connect21 on page 35.
Our people have a crucial role to play in meeting
theopportunities ahead. I would like to thank our
employees for their hard work and dedication over
the past year. Rising to the challenges brought by
severe weather and changes within the industry,
they have continued to make National Grid
acompany we can be proud of.
Sir Peter Gershon
Governance
pages 42 – 57
Across our operations,
our employees volunteer
for causes that matter
tothem, and to the
communities we serve.
Inthe UK alone, 1,730
employees devoted 8,178
hours togood causes.
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