Engine No.1 scores a hat-trick with a third board seat at ExxonMobil

Engine No.1 bagged yet another victory at the Exxon Mobil Corp. board elections when shareholders elected the third nominee by the hedge fund to the oil company’s board.

Alexander Karsner, a strategist at Alphabet Inc., won the fund's third seat in the 12-member ExxonMobil board, according to a regulatory filing. Karsner has significant experience in the renewable energy space. Exxon board member and former Caterpillar CEO Douglas Oberhelman also was elected, reported Reuters.

The filing also mentioned that Steven Kandarian, Samuel Palmisano, and Wan Zulkiflee will exit the 12-person board. Former IBM CEO Palmisano was the board's longest-serving director with 15 years. Former Malaysian state oil company chief Zulkiflee was appointed in February after Exxon received blunt criticism its directors lacked energy experience, stated the Reuters’ report. 

The other two Engine No. 1 nominees who were elected last week are Kaisa Hietala and Gregory Goff. Hietala is a former executive at Finish refiner Neste Oyj and Goff is a former executive at Marathon Petroleum.

In a statement issued by the company, Darren Woods, chairman and CEO of Exxon said, “We look forward to working with all of our directors to build on the progress we’ve made to grow long-term shareholder value and succeed in a lower-carbon future.”

Exxon has plans to drill new wells in the US and off the coast of Guyana.

The election of three board members by an activist hedge fund founded less than six months ago, by large investors, may however make this move difficult. Engine No 1 has already stated that Exxon will also have to cut carbon emissions from its products.

Picture Credits: Financial Times