ExxonMobil recently announced a substantial compensation package for its Chairman/CEO, Darren Woods (pictured above), sparking debate over whether the oil giant is prioritizing executives at the expense of shareholders. According to Reuters:
CEO Darren Woods’ pay package for 2024 rose 19.3% to $44.1 million, a regulatory filing by the U.S. oil major on Monday showed.
Woods’ base salary was about $1.96 million, with the majority of his pay package based on variable factors, including a $4.5 million bonus and $26.8 million in stock-based awards.
According to a regulatory filing, Woods’ pay package is about 231 times the average compensation of $190,266 received by the oil major’s workers.
The median annual compensation for Exxon employees increased by 2.6%, compared to 2023.
NLPC, an investor in the company, sent a letter to ExxonMobil’s board on November 14, 2024, calling for Woods to resign as CEO and Chairman following his remarks in support of the Paris climate agreement. Woods has not walked back his desire for the U.S. to remain in the agreement, despite President Trump‘s decision to leave the pact, which was never ratified by the U.S. Senate as required anyway.
Woods, by pursuing the come-and-go government incentives that seed gimmickry like carbon capture and storage schemes, under the economy-distorting Green New Deal, risks distraction from ExxonMobil’s core oil and natural gas business. Paying out multi-million-dollar increases to an executive who chases questionable priorities fosters an environment in which profits are placed at risk, all because of ideological activism (like climate alarmism). Woods’s position as both CEO and Chairman of the board is another classic example of concentrated executive power producing poor decision-making.
As ExxonMobil’s annual shareholder meeting approaches on May 28, investors should pay close attention to whether the company’s board is properly holding Woods accountable, which at the moment is questionable.
