PERNOD-RICARD - URD 2020-21

the conditions for future growth every day - solid, sustainable growth that benefits all our stake- holders. This is the true leadership we have been aiming towards since your Group was founded. And it is thanks to support from you, our valued shareholders, that we are in a position to build our future with serenity and confidence in times of crisis. The solidity of our foundations was confirmed by the fall-out from the pandemic, which above all enabled us to rapidly put in place new ways of working that are more agile, more direct, and more flexible than before. We are monitoring our resources on an ongoing basis to ensure that they are allocated optimally to each growth opportuni ty, we are innovat ing constant ly and are continuing to manage our portfol io dynamically. In terms of cost control, we have pooled our skills through the creation of Centres of Excellence, from IT to HR to innovation and consumer research, which are now available to everyone, freeing up time and energy to enable us to focus on what is essential: seizing every opportunity for growth in every market. And it is these new practices, behaviours, and mindsets that we are continuing to expand to ensure ever greater operational excellence. Crises often play the role of accelerator for both existing and emerging trends and the pandemic has been no different in this respect. In the light of Covid-19, I think it is fair to say

that our Transform & Accelerate strategic plan was incredibly far-sighted and a great testimony to the strong insight we brought to its development. Our strategic intuitions have since become operational certainties, convincing us to fast-track our changes - even at the height of the pandemic. Our current plan has the strength of simplicity and the relevance of a proven vision, and we will remain in full deployment mode, focusing on out-sized performance to out- perform the competition .

“Our strategic intuitions have since become

operational certainties.”

The three critical areas of focus I would like to share with you as we look forward are talent management , social responsibi l ity, and our digital transformation. The most important is obviously to manage our talents: i f we are ‘consumer-centric’, we must also be ‘employee-

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PERNOD RICARD UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2020-2021