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New ExxonMobil chief gets earful at annual meeting
AFP
DALLAS
Petroleumworld.com 06 01 06New ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson was in the hot seat Wednesday, facing an onslaught from critics at the company's annual meeting despite a year of record profits for the oil giant.
After an opening review of Exxon's 36 billion dollar profit in 2005, shareholders lined up to confront Tillerson on topics ranging from alternative fuel technology and gasoline prices to executive compensation and its policy on gay employees.
While some Washington lawmakers have called for a windfall profit tax on big oil companies, a measure roundly dismissed at congressional hearings by the nation's top oil executives, it was not a dominant theme among shareholders.
"Interest in our industry is very high today with the rise in commodity prices, concerns about energy supplies, and the focus on our company's earnings," Tillerson said.
"The level of misinformation only makes it more important to discuss the massive scale of our industry and the meaningful alternatives available in the foreseeable future."
Tillerson took the heat from shareholder activists like Sydney Kay, who called for an overhaul of Exxon's "puppet, flunkey, rubber stamper" board of directors.
From there, the barbs and resolutions flew throughout the Dallas symphony hall for more than three hours. Some vilified Exxon's role in global warming and its approach to energy beyond fossil fuels while others railed against its "disgusting" pay for its directors.
Earlier this month, proxy-advisory firm Institutional Shareholders Services urged investors not to cast votes for some directors, and the North Carolina Retirement Systems followed suit by withholding votes for five nominees to protest former CEO Lee Raymond's retirement package.
Raymond, who retired from the world's biggest oil company in December, reportedly received more than 686 million dollars from 1993 to 2005. He took home more that 400 million dollars in the final year of his contract.
"We are outraged that executives are using soaring gas prices, which are hitting consumers at the pump, to fatten their own wallets," said Richard Moore, North Carolina's state treasurer.
"The excessive pay packages, like that seen at ExxonMobil, diminish shareholder value and are evidence of policies that fail to generate long term value for shareholders."
The protest did not change the outcome as Exxon board members ran unopposed and, because directors are elected with a plurality of votes cast, were re-elected regardless.
The mood may have been more sedate than some of the more raucous meetings of the past, due perhaps Tillerson's mollifying demeanor, but it still had its moments.
For instance, one shareholder, likening Exxon to the failed Enron group -- which imploded under an accounting scandal -- drew applause when he said Raymond should return half his compensation package.
Another resolution, calling for Exxon's employment policy to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, was put forward for the eighth year in a row. Last year, 29.5 percent of the votes cast supported the resolution. This year, 34.6 percent voted in favor of the amendment to the policy, according to preliminary results.
Shares of Exxon Mobil finished up 71 cents at 60.91 dollars and are up about seven percent for the year.
AFP 31 2132 GMT 05 06
Copyright © 1994-2006 Agence France-Presse. All Rights Reserved.
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