AmazonScience/document-haystack

1Board Leadership and Company Purpose2Over the year the Board focused on a strategy of growth and sustainability 3bringing moments of excitement into people’s lives. As we go into 2024 there 4has been a shift in strategy to deliver organic growth, EBITDA margin expansion 5and US market growth. The Board will continue to ensure the customer is at the 6heart of all we do as we continue to develop and provide market-leading player 7protection. The Board has also sought to promote our purpose and strategy and 8made decisions in the interests of all stakeholders, having considered the matters 9set out in s172 of the Companies Act 2006 (UK).10Employee Forum Global Conference11Our Global Engagement Conference invites employee engagement 12advocates to share their insights with the Board and Executive 13Committee. This year’s event was hosted on 31 January by Melanie 14Tansey, Chief People Officer, and was attended by Board members 15Virginia McDowell, our Designated Workforce Director, and Rahul 16Welde, and more than 40 employees representing 22 countries.17Attendees heard a business update which focused on our strategic 18direction, goals, culture and employee engagement. Following this, 19the group then had an open conversation with the Board on topics 20such as how to build engagement and trust, communication, 21diversity, equity & inclusion, goal setting, leadership, networking 22and recognition. A number of proposals were taken away by the 23representatives of the Board for further consideration.24A video recording of the Global Conference was posted on the 25Entain intranet to ensure all employees have an opportunity to 26watch the discussion.27Employee Forum AGM28Each year the elected representatives from our forums come 29together with members of the Board and Executive Committee for 30the Forum AGM. 31During this year’s meeting, each forum presented their main 32achievements during the year and had an open conversation with 33the Board. This meeting took place in January 2024. It was hosted 34by Melanie Tansey, Chief People Officer and welcomed 80 Forum 35Representatives to join two of our Directors, Virginia McDowell and 36Rahul Welde. 37Key topics discussed included communications, company 38performance, customer feedback, leadership, listening and 39strategy. The meeting was an important opportunity to build 40connections between the Board and our employees.41Shareholders42The Board receives feedback on shareholder views in different 43ways, including through the Chairman and executive management, 44who meet regularly with shareholders throughout the year, as 45well as an investor study compiled by an independent third party. 46Board members listen to results and trading updates held by the 47Group for analysts and institutional investors and can hear directly 48the questions and comments on Company performance.49The Chairman and Senior Independent Director held regular 50meetings with a variety of institutional investors to discuss 51the execution of strategy and delivering shareholder value. 52Key takeaways and feedback from shareholder meetings were 53shared with the rest of the Board.54Stakeholders55The Board has responsibility for leading the Group’s stakeholder 56engagement and considering the implications of key decisions 57on the Company and its stakeholders. The Board recognises that 58effective engagement with our stakeholders will drive long-term 59value creation, making Entain a company that people want to 60invest in, buy from, partner with and work for.61Entain has identified six stakeholder categories and our report 62on ‘Board activities’ provides an overview of how the Group’s key 63stakeholders are considered in Board discussions and deliberations 64as part of its decision making.65Our People66Listening to and engaging our people is a key priority at Entain. We 67are committed to listening to employees across the globe to drive 68positive change throughout the organisation. We focus on this 69through our Employee Forums, Global Engagement Conference and 70global engagement survey. 71Employee forums exist in many of the locations in which we 72operate. Our Employee Forums continue to be a key pillar of our 73employee listening and engagement strategy. The forums enable 74our people to discuss and agree how their teams connect with 75the Company purpose, strategy and values, as well as discussing 76topics that impact them and their colleagues. 77Our UK & Ireland Retail Forums and UK & Gibraltar Office 78Forums host quarterly meetings where elected representatives 79come together to share feedback on all aspects of life at Entain. 80During these meetings they also hear updates from the business 81on topics ranging from company purpose, strategy and values to 82financial performance and operational initiatives. 83Our Directors are encouraged to attend employee forums and 84during the year have attended listening sessions that provide 85feedback and insight into the realities of everyday working life 86at Entain. 87As per our forum constitution, every two years we refresh our 88forums by electing new representatives. This election process was 89held in December 2023, and we now have a new forum team for 902024/25, who have been fully trained in readiness for their role.91Entain plc Annual Report 202396921 Overview 8  S trategic report 88 G overnance 140 F inancial statements