Good morning. As President Donald Trump has initiated tariff wars and threatened individual companies, his second term has been marked by pilgrimages of CEOs from Big Tech and beyond to bestow gifts upon POTUS and perform public acts of praise.
Woods, an Exxon lifer who succeeded Rex Tillerson as CEO in 2017 when his boss went to work for Trump, is a reserved but strong-spoken chief who has emerged as an unofficial industry spokesman.
Woods is a believer in the famed, disciplined “Exxon way.” He’s always cordial but blunt. He’ll tell you Exxon won’t invest in renewables—Exxon is about molecules, not electrons—and that Exxon shouldn’t be blamed for climate change.
And he’s not going to appease the president by upsetting Exxon shareholders—an ongoing conundrum for the business leaders. Energy analysts said Exxon stock likely would have suffered if Exxon overcommitted to spending billions in Venezuela in its current, uneconomic state. Exxon’s stock ticked down only slightly by 0.5% on Monday—despite Trump’s critical words—and maintained a market cap of about $529 billion.
“There was nobody to say anything, except Darren, and he’s eloquent as heck,” said Jim Wicklund, veteran oil analyst and managing director for PPHB energy investment firm.
Sometimes it comes down to who has the most leverage.
