“Technology will ultimately play a role in unlocking solutions for most, if not all, of our challenges.”
Chairman and CEO DarrenW. Woods
What are your priorities as chairman and CEO? My first priority is to ensure that all of us continue to live by and promote our company’s values, including safety and integrity. I want us to build on our strong foundation of operational excellence and corporate citizenship. I want us to empower and fully leverage the talents and capabilities of our people. Another priority of mine is for us to further differentiate the capabilities and performance of our technology organization and functional companies. Finally, our priority must be to win – to beat our competition in creating shareholder and stakeholder value. Early on as chairman and CEO, you’ve spoken out about climate change. Where are you on this issue? It’s an important issue, part of the dual challenge I talked about earlier. ExxonMobil is committed to helping address the challenge – and has been for years. We’ve been involved in climate research for almost 40 years. We’ve made significant contributions to the science and partnered with some of the world’s leading scientific and research organizations, including the U.N. Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, Stanford University, MIT and others. We’re reducing emissions in our operations. We’re helping consumers reduce their emissions with improvements in our products. And we’re investing in breakthrough technologies that could be game-changing, like biofuels and carbon capture and storage. We recently joined the Climate Leadership Council, which supports a revenue- neutral carbon tax. We also support the Paris agreement. We have a lot of experience in the energy industry and a deep understanding of the available technologies. We can make a significant contribution. As the world takes on this challenge, everyone will have to play a part – governments, the industry and consumers. We must also remember that some parts of the world are in desperate need of reliable, affordable energy. We have to meet this need as well. Let me say, whether you’re an employee, an annuitant or a shareholder of ExxonMobil, you’re part of something big, and something important. The energy we produce is powering progress around the world. Any final thoughts for readers of The Lamp ?
Darren Woods has held several roles in the Downstream and Chemical businesses, and in Investor Relations
Photo by Robert Seale
It’s lifting billions of people out of poverty. It’s enabling hundreds of millions to join the middle class. It’s helping more people get the medical care, education and jobs they need. Our company has many exciting opportunities to continue to contribute to this progress. We
also have exciting opportunities to address energy’s impact on the environment. We’ve made great progress over the years. I’m optimistic that our research efforts will help unlock additional opportunities. I’m proud to be a part of all that we do, and I hope you are too.
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