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HOUSTON/BOSTON Last December, when a week-old hedge fund named Engine No. 1 challenged Exxon Mobil to change its ways, laughter echoed through Wall Street circles, from the fund’s name that recalled a famous children’s book to its tiny, then-$40 million stake in what was once the world’s largest publicly traded company.
Just six months later, the fund delivered a massive blow that rippled throughout the oil-and-gas industry. Engine No. 1’s campaign forced Exxon to accept new board members who could bring about a reckoning over its business strategy and confront the risk of global climate change that many investors say Exxon has long been reluctant to address.
The little engine that could, and the oil giant that couldn t
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Jennifer Hiller
Reuters
HOUSTON/BOSTON (Reuters) - Last December, when a week-old hedge fund named Engine No. 1 challenged Exxon Mobil to change its ways, laughter echoed through Wall Street circles, from the fund s name that recalled a famous children s book to its tiny, then-$40 million stake in what was once the world s largest publicly traded company.
Just six months later, the fund delivered a massive blow that rippled throughout the oil-and-gas industry. Engine No. 1 s campaign forced Exxon to accept new board members who could bring about a reckoning over its business strategy and confront the risk of global climate change that many investors say Exxon has long been reluctant to address.