ExxonMobil has appointed Darren Woods, former head of its refining and transport operations, as its new chief executive, following the retirement of Rex Tillerson who has been chosen by Donald Trump to be his secretary of state.
The Exxon board’s decision confirms the expectation set a year ago when Mr Woods was appointed the group’s president, the role generally held by the designated successor to the chief executive.
Mr Tillerson had been scheduled to retire in March next year, when he reaches the company’s standard age of 65, and his selection by Mr Trump has accelerated the handover by a few weeks.
Exxon said that “given the significant requirements associated with the confirmation process”, Mr Tillerson and the board had agreed it was appropriate to bring his retirement forward.
Thanking Mr Tillerson for his service to Exxon, the board said he had “led the company with integrity and honour, ensuring that safety and environmental protection were at the forefront of everything we do”.
Like Mr Tillerson, Mr Woods is an engineering graduate from a Texas university, in his case Texas A&M. He is 51, and has worked at Exxon for 24 years in a range of businesses in the US and outside it, including a spell in Brussels. But he has only ever worked in the “downstream” refining, transport, supply and chemicals operations, and never “upstream” in exploration and production.
He takes over Exxon as the company faces questions about its long-term future. Shares of the world’s largest listed oil group by market capitalisation have been underperforming those of its rival Chevron, the second-largest US oil group.
The company is also embroiled in a legal battle with the attorneys-general of the states of New York and Massachusetts, who are investigating allegations that Exxon’s public statements have conflicted with its private views on the risks of climate change.
Joe Stanislaw, an energy consultant, said the task for Mr Woods would be to navigate the company through an energy industry that would eventually move away from fossil fuels, but during the transition would still need growing supplies of oil and gas.
“He needs to be in the game with the new energy technologies, but keep hold of the existing generation while they are still needed,” Mr Stanislaw said.
(C) Financial Times
0 comments:
Post a Comment