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Administration January 2, 2005
ExxonMobil Target of Flurry of Shareholder Resolutions
February 25, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Shareholder
groups and several prominent investor activists have hit
ExxonMobil with a flurry of proxy resolutions on issues like
global warming and separating the chief executive and board
chairman posts.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
According to an announcement from Connecticut Treasurer Denise Nappier, prominent investor activist Robert Monks and two shareholder groups, investors have filed 23 shareholder resolutions with the energy giant – up from 12 in 2003. In addition to Nappier and Monks, the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investing and Campaign ExxonMobil also participated in the announcement. The company’s 2003 annual meeting is scheduled for May 28 in Irving, Texas.
A resolution filed by the State of Connecticut and the Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell, New Jersey calls on the ExxonMobil board “to prepare a report by September 2003 describing any operating, financial and reputational risks to the company associated with climate change and explaining how the company will mitigate those risks.”
“It’s penny wise and pound foolish not to take seriously the long-term risks and liabilities as well as the opportunities for companies like ExxonMobil,” Nappier said in a statement. “Shareholders need a full and complete evaluation of proposed regulatory, legislative and competitive responses to climate change, as well as a plan to mitigate those risks before any damage – financial or otherwise – is done.”
The resolution filed by Robert Monks, who is publisher of RAGM.com and founder of Institutional Shareholder Services, calls on ExxonMobil to separate the positions of chairman of the board and CEO. Separation of these positions, the resolution states, “will provide greater accountability of management to the shareholders, and provide more independent oversight of management, including the CEO, by the board of directors.” The chair and CEO positions are both currently held at ExxonMobil by Lee Raymond.
Commenting on the resolution, Monks said in a statement: “There is a particular need for the board of directors of the largest company in the world be chaired by a fully independent person who has the authority, experience, and responsibility for preparing a proper agenda and presiding over the meeting. Large corporations need the perspective of an independent board, as well as an operating management. This cannot be accomplished under a single leader.”
More information about the campaign against ExxonMobil is at this Web site .