Third climate advocate wins seat on Exxon board

A third climate advocate has secured a seat on the board of Exxon Mobil Corp.

Alexander Karsner, a private equity investor from Engine No. 1, won a seat on ExxonMobil’s board, according to preliminary results for Exxon’s election of directors, which were released by the company on Wednesday.

Engine No. 1, a new investment firm that has called for the company to make more significant investments in clean energy, will now control three seats on the company’s 12-member board. The remaining nine slots will be filled by Exxon nominees, according to the company.

The preliminary results, however, still have to be certified by the independent inspector of election.

Engine No. 1 has vowed to “reenergize” Exxon, according to its website.

The company launched a campaign that aims to “position [Exxon] for long-term, sustainable value creation.”

To achieve its goal, the fund said it believes the company must “refresh the Board with highly qualified, independent directors who have track records of success in energy and can help the Board … position ExxonMobil to successfully evolve with changing industry dynamics.”

It also called for imposing greater long-term money allocation discipline, implementing a tactical plan for sustainable value creation in a “changing world” and overhauling management pay to “better align incentives with shareholder value creation.”

Last week, the company secured two seats on the board at Exxon’s annual shareholder meeting: Gregory Goff, the former chief executive of refiner Andeavor, and environmental scientist Kaisa Hietala.

The representatives from Exxon on the board are: Chairman and CEO Darren Woods, Michael Angelakis, Susan Avery, Angela Braly, Ursula Burns, Kenneth Frazier, Joseph Hooley, Douglas Oberhelman and Jeffrey Ubben.

“We look forward to working with all of our directors to build on the progress we’ve made to grow long-term shareholder value and succeed in a lower-carbon future,” Woods said in a statement.

“We thank all shareholders for their engagement and participation, and their ongoing support for our company,” he added.