Investors will vote on the ex-employee’s proposal at the company’s annual meeting next week
By Kevin Crowley
May 18, 2022, 10:14 AM CDT
Bloomberg
Exxon Mobil Corp.’s top executives are showing a failure of leadership by accepting perks such as financial-planning services and use of the corporate jet for personal trips, according to a 42-year veteran employee.
Bernie Pafford, who worked in chemical research for Exxon until his 2018 retirement, has authored a proposal to end executive-only benefits at the company’s annual meeting on May 25. Top managers should be subject to the same strict, global policies that prohibit rank-and-file workers from using company funds for personal benefit, he said in an interview.
“It’s not about the money involved, it’s about credibility,” Pafford said. “Core principles and rules should be the same across the organization. I don’t think we as shareholders should be paying to be a travel service for these guys who have earned $10-$20 million a year.”
The proposal received backing from proxy giant Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. which said such fringe benefits “are not considered to be a best practice.” Pafford first submitted the proposition for the 2021 annual meeting but withdrew it after Exxon offered to engage with him on the issue. The company later ended the financial-planning benefit for new executives, while retaining it for already eligible managers. Dissatisfied, Pafford re-submitted the proposal for this year’s gathering.
“If it’s wrong, then it’s wrong and should be eliminated for all,” he said.
Exxon is urging shareholders to reject the proposal because its program is designed to be “market competitive for all employees,” according to a proxy filing. The company “does not consider security costs to be personal benefits since these costs arise from the nature of the employee’s occupation.” Exxon said some executive benefits like financial planning are “generally due to legacy participation” in now terminated programs.