ExxonMobil raised package of CEO Woods to US$36.9 million in 2023

ExxonMobil chief executive Darren Woods received US$36.9 million in total compensation for 2023, up nearly 3 per cent from a year earlier, the oil major said in a regulatory filing on Thursday (Apr 11).

And in a proxy filing ahead of its May 29 annual meeting of shareholders, Exxon recommended its investors vote against all proposals submitted by a minority of shareholders.

These include calls to cut executive pay incentives for greenhouse gas emission reductions, an additional pay report on gender and racial bias and an extra report on plastic pollution.

Exxon has successfully blocked proposals by activist investors after filing a complaint in court. Arjuna Capital and shareholder activist group Follow This dropped their proposal demanding tighter climate targets following the suit.

The US oil major says analysing each proposal can cost companies up to US$150,000, and only less than 4 per cent of the 140 proposals filed since 2014 have passed

Woods was awarded almost 200 times the median pay for an Exxon worker, despite this increasing 8 per cent last year to US$185,376.

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Chevron CEO Michael Wirth also saw total compensation increase, by 12.2 per cent, to US$26.5 million in 2023, equal to about 150 times the US$175,673 the average pay for the oil major’s workers.

Part of a CEO’s compensation is given by companies in equity, so the final value can only be known when options are exercised or stocks are sold.

Other incentives for Woods included US$297,295 for setting up a new residential security system and another US$485,758 for relocation after the closure of Exxon’s office in Irving and its move to Spring, which are both in Texas.

Three other top Exxon executives received about US$1 million in total to relocate to Spring.

The pay hikes come even as profits from oil majors have fallen by about a third from record levels in 2022, as oil and gas prices retreated from a spike when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Exxon ended 2023 with a profit of US$36 billion, versus US$55.7 billion it earned a year earlier. REUTERS