Wind of Change

Public companies are struggling to embrace stakeholder capitalism. Can a new breed of activist investor help?

- By Kristin Toussaint

When upstart activist hedge fund Engine No. 1 secured three seats on the board of ExxonMobil, in June, it was a high-profile repudiation of the way the country’s largest oil company has long conducted business: with a laser focus on returns and a blind eye to its impact on the world at large. The fund vowed to push ExxonMobil to develop a plan to address climate change and reduce its carbon footprint. Exxon’s responsibility as a business would no longer be only to its shareholders, the boardroom showdown signaled, but also to the public and the planet.

To pull off this coup, however, Engine No. 1 first needed to woo other, bigger shareholders. Launched in December 2020 with a goal of getting companies to prioritize long-term value, the fund found a perfect first target in Exxon. The oil company had ignored the kinds of renewable investments that would set it up for future success, and its stock had been plummeting. Though Engine No. 1 held just 0.02% of the company, it persuaded some of Exxon’s largest shareholders, including BlackRock and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, that the company’s myopia was a liability. “I think the issue you’ve seen at Exxon, really for years, is an overly short-term focus and a real disregard for the way the industry has changed, where the world is changing,” Charlie Penner, who leads campaigns at Engine No. 1, told Fast Company.