BT 2015 Annual Report Download - page 96

94 BT Group plc
Annual Report 2015
irstl  a delihted to welcoe sabel udson who oined the oard
on 1 oveber 01. sabels insiht and eperience in the reulator
pensions and financial industries will be a stron asset for  and
the oard.  led the recruitent process with the full support of the
oinatin  overnance oittee as we eplain in ore detail on
pae 10. sabel will becoe chair of the
ualit of ccess oard and
the
 ensions oittee fro 1 ebruar 01 as hil odinson
steps down after ten ears on the oard at the end of anuar. s 
entioned last ear ain onn chief eecutive of entrica oined the
oard on 1 une 01.
e announced in pril that arren ast will be steppin down fro the
oard on 1 a 01 in liht of his appointent as chief eecutive of
olls-oce with eect fro  ul 01. arren has ade an iense
contribution durin his tie at  and  conratulate hi onthis
iportant appointent.
 continuall review the ebership of the oard and the rane of
sills it has. e loo to appoint outstandin candidates with a diverse
i of eperience as we reconise the iportance of diversit in its
widest sense in oard eectiveness. urrentl we have  feale
representation on the oard.
e are delihted that lison ilco will oin the copan in ul
01 as our new roup  irector and a eber of the
Operating
oittee
. lison brins a wealth of international senior anaeent
eperience. he replaces lare hapan who has helped us transfor
our culture and odernise our  service.  would lie to than lare
andwish her continuin success in the future.
his has been a ver full ear for  with a nuber of aor
developents and decisions. t has therefore been a ver bus ear for
oard ebers who have ade theselves available to support and
enae with the anaeent tea as and when needed. he oard
has plaed an active role in the ears aor decisions particularl in
relation to the acuisition of  reier eaue rihts and the proposed
acuisition of  a sinificant transaction in strateic and scale ters
and which we have proressed at pace.
s well as our forward prorae of e ites and updates fro
each line of business  this ear we had in-depth discussions on our
obilit and  content strate ustoer irst rorae and the
pension schee. ou can read ore about what we have done on paes
9 to 100.
e enaed intstoc to undertae our triennial eternal oard
evaluation to assess our eectiveness as a oard. he coposition of
the oard was rated hihl and intstoc coented that overall the
nowlede of oard ebers was seen to be well drawn upon for the
benefit of the copan. e discussed the report in a 01 and
areed soe areas of iproveent. e set out the proress we have
ade on a nuber of these areas on pae 100. ur focus this ear
has included analsis of copetitor activit further discussion on
succession plannin continued insiht into custoer service includin
a visit to penreach to see our service operations in action and a visit to
s business in tal.
e eep our overnance fraewor under review to ensure it enhances
the oards abilit to eercise proper oversiht. e have ipleented
soe chanes which include establishin a new
echnolo oittee
of the oard and with eect fro 1 pril 01 transferrin oversiht
of certain non-financial riss includin our copliance proraes
fro the
oinatin  overnance oittee to the udit  is
oittee
. ou can read ore about these chanes on pae 10.
he inancial eportin ouncil updated the UK orporate overnance
ode in epteber 01 with the chanes eective for reportin
periods beinnin on or after 1 ctober 01. e have taen these
chanes into account and will be reviewin our processes with a view to
coplin with and reportin aainst these new reuireents in 01.
e also enae in relevant consultations as the tae place as part of
the wider overnance debate.
 would lie to than all ebers of the oard for their support this
ear and  believe the oard has the riht i of sills and eperience
tocontinue to deliver and further develop our strate.
Sir Michael Rake
Chairman
 a 01
Chairman’s governance report
“ BT has made some key investment decisions
this year and I would like to thank all the
Board for the role they have played in shaping
our strategy.”