In the hotly contested board director election at ExxonMobil, activist hedge fund Engine No. 1 prevailed. Two of their nominees, Greg Goff and Kaisa Hietala, were elected. This is a stunning rebuke from investors to the company for its unwillingness to adapt its strategy for the energy transition.
The full makeup of Exxon Mobil Corp's board of directors remained undecided following Wednesday's hotly contested election in which 16 candidates vied for 12 seats.
Shareholders Elect ExxonMobil Directors
Shareholders have elected eight of ExxonMobil nominees to the board of directors and two of Engine No. 1 nominees. But, vote results for five nominees were too close to call.
The American oil giant however, pointed out that preliminary vote estimates were by its proxy solicitor,
“We welcome all of our new directors and look forward to working with them constructively and collectively on behalf of all shareholders,” said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer.
“We’ve been actively engaging with shareholders and received positive feedback and support, particularly for our announcements relating to low-carbon solutions and progress in efforts to reduce costs and improve earnings. We heard from shareholders today about their desire to further these efforts, and we are well positioned to respond”, the company said.
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(Reuters) - A tiny hedge fund dealt a major blow to Exxon Mobil Corp on Wednesday, unseating at least two board members in a bid to force the company s leadership to reckon with the risk of failing to adjust its business strategy to match global efforts to combat climate change.
The success by hedge fund Engine No. 1 in its showdown with Exxon shocked an energy industry struggling to address growing investor concerns about global warming. It happened on the same day activists scored a big win against another oil major, Royal Dutch Shell - a Dutch court ordered the company to drastically deepen pledged cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.