ExxonMobil dealt a defeat as activist hedge fund's nominees win board seats

While the Engine No. 1 hedge fund controls far less than one percent of Exxon's stock, it is pushing for changes.
Exxon gas station sign in California in 2008
By Alex Nitzberg

ExxonMobil announced on Wednesday that preliminary vote estimates indicate that shareholders have elected two Engine No. 1 nominees to sit on the oil giant's board of directors, a result that represents a defeat for Exxon.

While the Engine No. 1 hedge fund controls far less than one percent of Exxon's stock, it is pushing for changes and argues that the business "has no credible strategy to create value in a decarbonizing world."

An Exxon letter earlier this year pressed shareholders not to vote for Engine No. 1's nominees: "We disagree with their approach, and urge you to reject the four board candidates they’ve nominated to carry out their value-destructive agenda," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods and lead director Kenneth Frazier noted in the letter.