Exxon's Woods can boast in Brooklyn: Ross Kerber
The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
By Ross Kerber
Sept 4 (Reuters) -An upcoming appearance by Exxon XOM.N Chief Executive Darren Woods will give him a chance to tout the strong investor support he won despite a lawsuit targeting a few shareholders, and could provide some clarity around the impact of the litigation.
Woods, slated to speak at a corporate governance conference in the New York City borough of Brooklyn on Sept. 10, put Exxon into legal attack mode this spring against activist investors who filed a climate-related shareholder resolution for the company's annual meeting.
The resolution called on Exxon to set emission-reduction targets including for emissions produced by the burning of its products.
Exxon kept its lawsuit going even after the proponents withdrew the measure, hoping the court would resolve certain issues, and complained about the filers' motives. While a federal judge ultimately tossed the case in June, the matter raised concerns about shareholder rights.
Now Woods will speak before the Council of Institutional Investors, whose members include some of the activists and pension fund leaders most concerned about Exxon's environmental record and lawsuit. Several told me they will watch Woods' appearance for signs of whether the court go-round could suppress shareholder participation.
"He's sent a message that if you file a shareholder resolution at Exxon on the climate transition, that Exxon is prepared to react," said Julie Gorte, senior vice president for sustainable investing for Impax Asset Management.
Asked for comment, an Exxon representative referred to a previous statement by Woods which said, "Our lawsuit put a spotlight on the widespread abuse of the shareholder proxy submission process" and that the company looks forward to engaging with all of its investors.
Woods will speak from strength at his Sept. 10 appearance. Although there were calls for votes against him and another director, both leaders cruised to reelection at the annual general meeting on May 29.
New securities filings show Exxon won the full backing of top investors Vanguard and BlackRock BLK.N, although Vanguard in a stewardship note had questioned why Exxon kept pursuing the lawsuit.
Speaking with Woods at the event will be Donna Anderson, head of corporate governance at T. Rowe Price TROW.O. Filings show the Baltimore-based fund manager also fully backed Exxon.
"Our perspective was the board acted reasonably and there was no reason not to vote for them,” Anderson said via a representative.
Exxon's lawsuit broke with the usual path used by companies to block shareholder resolutions - the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Rule 14a-8 "no action" process.
Exxon and others say SEC has allowed too many resolutions to come to a vote. The CII had said the SEC's process remains the right venue to hash things out and its new executive director, Bob McCormick, reiterated that position.
"Our view that the SEC’s Rule 14a-8 no-action process generally is superior to litigating differences over whether shareholder proposals should be included on proxy ballots has not changed," McCormick told me.
Ropes & Gray attorneys wrote they do not expect a flood of similar litigation because companies generally wish to avoid alienating institutional investors. But Exxon probably sent a message to other activists, they wrote, because even the threat of being sued "could certainly cause an activist investor to think twice about submitting proposals."
One of those sued by Exxon was Amsterdam-based Follow This. Its founder, Mark van Baal, said he does not expect a softer message from Woods but hopes that other investors like state pension funds with more resources will now file resolutions at Exxon to press for measures like emissions disclosures.
Smaller investors will likely be intimidated by Exxon's lawsuit, he said. "There will be a chilling effect."
The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston
Editing by Matthew Lewis
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