Proctor and Gamble 1999 Annual Report Download - page 14

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10
This letter marks my last as an active employee of Procter & Gamble,
and I want to use this opportunity to tell you, my fellow shareholders,
why I’m so very confident in the future of this Company.
When I joined P&G in 1963, we were operating in 17 countries.
Today, that number has grown to over 140 countries, serving almost
five billion people. Sales have grown from just over $1 billion to over
$38 billion. Profits have grown from $116 million to just under
$4 billion (after tax). Our stock price has grown from $2.45 (adjusted
for splits) to about $90 as I write this letter. But, as productive as our
past has been, it is the opportunities ahead that excite me.
We stand at a moment in history unlike any other. This period of
globalization and explosion of technology offers us the opportunity to
grow our business and unleash the capacity of P&G people as never
before. However, it is also clear that seizing this opportunity requires
substantial changes in the way we operate.
As the cover of this report says, we are “Embracing the Future” today at
Procter & Gamble – more aggressively than ever in our history.
We are changing the way we’re structured to create many more new
brands and categories, and to expand our best ideas globally far faster.
We’ve decentralized decision-making for greater speed. We’ve instilled
goal-setting that asks people to go for stretch targets, knowing this will
yield better results than just playing it safe. We’ve introduced new
reward systems that recognize superior contributions at every level of
the organization. This is all part of Organization 2005 – the boldest
change effort in Procter & Gamble’s history.
EMBRACING THE FUTURE
John E. Pepper,
Chairman of the Board