Exxon’s billion-dollar investor wants Darren Woods, directors ousted 

May 22, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News – The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), a company with a U.S. billion dollar stake in ExxonMobil, said on Monday that it will be voting to remove the American oil giant’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Daren Woods and its board of directors from their posts.

CalPERS is the largest pension fund manager in the United States of America (USA) worth some US$484 Billion.

In an open letter on Monday CalPERS’ CEO, Marcie Frost and the President of its Board of Administration, Theresa Taylor said that the company will be voting against Exxon’s leadership team at the oil’s giant’s upcoming shareholders meeting on May 29, 2024.

According to the letter, CalPERS is up in arms against Woods and company because Exxon silenced two of its own shareholders with a lawsuit for a climate change proposal it was seeking to bring forward at the meeting.

The shareholders are reportedly environmentally focused activists, ‘Ajuna Capital’and ‘Follow This’.

Reports are that the two Shareholders were proposing a resolution for Exxon to work harder in reducing green house emissions from its products.

ExxonMobil in February sued the two groups reportedly to prevent the resolution from coming up on the agenda at the upcoming meeting.

The move forced Ajuna Capital’ and ‘Follow This’ to withdraw their proposal and keep quiet but ExxonMobil did not drop its lawsuit against them despite CalPERS urging the oil giant to do so.

“Now, decades of shareholder rights are under threat from a lawsuit filed by leaders of a powerful U.S. corporation, designed to punish two small groups that dared to speak truth to power”, CalPERS said in its open letter before adding “That is why on May 29, 2024, CalPERS will cast our shareholder votes in opposition to all 12 members of ExxonMobil’s board of directors and its chief executive officer”.

The CalPERS also urged other Exxon shareholders to do the same, “to send a message that our (shareholders) voices will not be silenced”.

ExxonMobil, according to the American Pension Fund Manager, had a better option to combat the shareholders’ climate friendly proposal but still chose to go ahead with an anti-shareholder lawsuit in the Texas (a USA sate) federal court.

“A company that wishes to block consideration of a shareholder proposal at its annual meeting can seek permission from the U.S. Securities Commission”, CalPERS argued while noting that the commission has approved two-thirds of all such requests this year.

It is CalPERS view that despite this option was on the table ExxonMobil insisted that the regulatory process was not good enough for the company and pursued a lawsuit even after the shareholders had dropped their proposal-a move that CalPERS considers to be a dangerous one.

“The repercussions of the lawsuit could be devastating” CalPERS said while explaining that if ExxonMobil succeeds in silencing voices and “upending the rules of shareholder democracy”  it puts every other issue on the table at risk and can result in shareholders becoming powerless.

“What other subjects will the leaders of any company make off limits? Worker Safety? Excessive executive compensation? Might future shareholders who seek answers from a company’s leader be ignored because of a legal precedent now sought by ExxonMobil” CalPERS questioned before calling the lawsuit “reckless” and stating that “ExxonMobil’s directors should know better”

The CalPERS said, “We helped elect many of the directors we are now voting against, and we do not take this step lightly. But we have to act”.

“ExxonMobil’s directors are allowing Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods to pursue a reckless and destructive effort and we cannot offer them our support at the May 29 annual meeting”, continued CalPERS before adding “It’s important to point out that almost all shareholder resolutions are non-binding, meaning that ExxonMobil’s real agenda here seems to be intimidation, empowering corporate leaders at the expense of the investors who own the company and provide capital. We can’t let that stand”.

CalPERS is the third investor that is pushing for Darren Woods to be ousted over the lawsuit that ExxonMobil filed against the two climate friendly shareholders.

Media reports in April said that two ExxonMobil shareholders, Westpath Benefits and Investments and Mercy Investment Services Inc. are urging other investors of the company to vote against the election of Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Darren Woods at the upcoming Annual Meeting on May 29, 2024.

In a Notice to shareholders, through a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, the two investors  pointed out that Woods and Lead Independent Director and Nominating and Governance Chair, Joseph Hooley have demonstrated disdain for the voice of shareholders and are willing to use the threat of lawsuits to silence them.

The investors described Exxon’s treatment of shareholders as “hostile” Westpath and Mercy reasoned, “We believe the action taken by Exxon represents a broader threat to shareholder rights amid continued concern regarding the company’s management of climate risk”.

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• CalPERS, Darren Woods, Directors, ExxonMobil, lawsuit

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