Rocking Rockefellers

27 May 2008 By Rob Cox Follow @rob1cox

At today s AGM, the motion to split the chairman and chief executive posts received even fewer votes than last year. That s the result of a good governance idea being misidentified as hostile to investors interests.

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Exxon shareholders voted down all 17 of the proposed resolution at the company's AGM, held on May 28. The proposal to split the posts of chairman and chief executive received 39.5% of the vote, down from 40% last year. This was the seventh time it was on the ballot.

On April 30, members of the Rockefeller family expressed their support for a shareholder resolution proposing to split the roles of chairman and chief executive at ExxonMobil. Both are currently held by Rex Tillerson. The family also called on shareholders to support 3 additional resolutions relating to climate change and alternative energy.

In a May 17 letter to Exxon's chairman and chief executive Rex Tillerson, Chuck Canterbury, president of the National Fraternal Order of Police, wrote that the socalled Rockefeller Resolutions would "hamstring ExxonMobil's profitability and growth, thus directly harming the police officers, firefighters, teachers and public employees whose retirement savings are invested in the company.

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