I Vesting S Ciety Bringing Sustainable Benefits to Societies

Ivesting Sciety Bringing Sustainable Benefi ts to Societies An Interview with Rex W. Tillerson, Chairman and Chief Executive Offi cer, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Irving, Texas EDITORS’ NOTE Rex Tillerson community involvement to the cul- launch, we have contributed about $40 million, earned a B.S. in civil engineering ture of ExxonMobil? mainly in support of malaria prevention, con- from the University of Texas at Austin Throughout exxonmobil’s 125- trol, and treatment. before joining Exxon Company USA year history, we have had a tradition another important project is our educating (EUSA) in 1975 as a Production of contributing to the communities and Women and Girls Initiative, launched in July Engineer. In 1989, he became economies in which we operate. our 2005. Through this program, we are working General Manager of EUSA’s Central business philosophy demands high to improve access to education and economic Production Division, and in 1992, standards in our operations, as well as opportunities for women and girls in develop- was named Production Advisor to in our dealings with neighbors, gov- ing countries. research consistently shows that Exxon Corporation. Three years later, ernments, business partners, custom- educating women and girls yields a higher rate he was named President of Exxon ers, and others who take an interest in of return for societies than any other community Yemen Inc. and Esso Exploration what we do. We are committed to the investment in the developing world. and Production Khorat Inc., and in Rex W. Tillerson safety and well-being of our workforce In the united states, we are working with January 1998 became Vice President and to the communities in which we partners to restore u.s. global competitiveness of Exxon Ventures (CIS) Inc. and President of operate, as well as to maintaining a responsible in math and science. one recent study showed Exxon Neftegas Limited. In Decem ber 1999, he approach to broader global issues relevant to our that between 2000 and 2003, the u.s. fell fi ve became Executive Vice President of ExxonMobil industry. doing these things well represents one places among 32 countries ranked in terms of Development Company. Tillerson was named of the greatest contributions that exxonmobil undergraduate science degrees earned. I believe Senior Vice President of Exxon Mobil Corporation can make to society, while enabling us to meet that to innovate, we need to educate, and the in August 2001, and was elected President and a our primary goal of producing the energy the threat of losing our competitive edge in innova- member of the board of birectors in March 2004. world needs in an economically, environmen- tion requires us to act. exxonmobil is a found- He assumed his current position in January tally, and socially responsible manner. ing sponsor of the national math and science 2006. Tillerson is Chairman and a member of the What are the key focus areas for commu- Initiative [nmsI], a nonprofi t organization cre- Executive Committee and Policy Committee of the nity involvement for ExxonMobil, and how ated to improve math and science education American Petroleum Institute. He is also a director do these efforts align with ExxonMobil’s in america’s schools by scaling up proven pro- of the U.S.-Russia Business Council, and a trustee business strategy? grams to the national level. This past march, we of the Center for Strategic and International In a business such as ours, project timelines committed $125 million to nmsI, which is the Studies. He is a member of the National Petroleum span several decades, meaning that we must largest private corporate gift to higher education Council, the Business Roundtable and its Energy build long-term relationships based on mutual in u.s. history. Task Force, an honorary trustee of the Business interests and trust with host governments and These initiatives directly impact local Council for International Understanding, and communities. as such, community involvement communities; but our social responsibility ef- a member of the Emergency Committee for is a much broader concept than just philan- forts also encompass broader global issues. For American Trade. He is also a member of the thropy. by contributing to economic growth – example, to address the risks posed by rising Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, a through investment, employment, education, greenhouse gas emissions, we are taking action, director of the United Negro College Fund, and the purchase of local goods and services, the including improving energy effi ciency across a member of the Engineering Advisory Board for payment of taxes, and other means – we bring our global operations, partnering with auto and the University of Texas at Austin and the Society sustainable benefi ts to societies. and when we engine makers to improve fuel economy, and of Petroleum Engineers. promote stable operating environments, sound investing in programs that research and develop governance systems, and skilled workforces, lower-emission energy technologies that can be COMPANY BRIEF Exxon Mobil Corporation we promote our own success. It’s a win-win applied globally – programs such as the Global (NYSE: XOM) is the world’s largest publicly situation. Climate and energy Project [GCeP] at stanford traded international oil and gas company. The Health and education are two of our priori- university, which we initiated. company (www.exxonmobil.com) is involved ties, both of which I am personally passionate How do you measure the success of in the exploration and production of crude oil about. Let me provide some examples of how your efforts? and natural gas; the manufacture of petroleum we are putting our fi nancial and managerial our goal is to be selective in the initia- products; the manufacture and marketing of strengths to use on these issues. tives we pursue, and to maximize the impact specialty commodity petrochemicals; and the one of exxonmobil Foundation’s most suc- of our efforts. While measurement is critical in transportation and sale of crude oil, natural gas, cessful philanthropic efforts is the africa Health every aspect of our business operations, it is not and petroleum products. ExxonMobil has inter- Initiative [aHI], launched in 2000 to help address always as straightforward in the philanthropic ests in 40 refi neries in 20 countries and close to the health and economic impacts of diseases. area. so we work closely with our partners on 34,000 retail service stations. Its total 2006 oil This effort began with the successful programs and gas production available for sale averaged we had already developed for our workforce, An ExxonMobil physician meets with residents of a village in Chad 4.2 million oil-equivalent barrels per day. and extended them more broadly to communi- to explain the causes of malaria and such preventive steps as the How important is social responsibility and ties, regions, and countries in africa. since aHI’s proper use of insecticide-treated bed nets. voLume 30, number 3 Leaders 15 the ground to identify and implement stronger strengths and pioneered the use or more appropriate performance metrics for of our retail service station net- individual projects. work in four african countries, best Practices in external affairs [bPEA] is a as a platform from which to dis- strategic planning and management tool we use tribute long-lasting insecticide- to help our affiliates seek and practice excel- treated bed nets and related lence in community relationships at every level. health-education information. as we continue to implement bPea across our as part of a six-member consor- global operations, we focus strongly on con- tium, we also assisted with the tinuous project evaluation and the development transfer of technology to launch of necessary training courses and assessment africa’s first textile factory for scorecards, and the sharing of best practices. the production of long-lasting In our support for malaria prevention and bed nets in Tanzania. and we treatment in africa, we are applying perfor- have worked with the measles mance metrics to show the correlation between Partnership to show that the resources spent and results achieved. The World distribution of long-lasting nets bank has proposed a “malaria scorecard” that can inexpensively complement would serve as a common system of measuring mass country-scale measles im- and reporting results that reflect on-the-ground munization campaigns. This ap- effectiveness. Covering 20 african nations, it proach has now been used to tracks data such as the percentage of children distribute over 10 million nets sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets, this year to children under five. ExxonMobil’s Global Women in Management Program helps women community leaders children diagnosed and treated, and households How do you engage em- in developing countries strengthen their management skills and leadership abilities to help using insecticide. ployees in ExxonMobil’s so- build local capacity. Are you focused on partnering in your cial responsibility and corpo- social responsibility programs, and would rate citizenship efforts? volunteer hours to more than 5,800 charitable you highlight some of these relationships? among our employees, we have long- organizations in 22 countries. Yes, we do participate in partnerships standing programs that encourage volunteer- How do you define the role of leader- with the belief that the most successful ones ism, as well as participation in our cultural and ship in communicating ExxonMobil’s ef- are those in which the strength of each partner educational matching-gift programs. In 2006, forts and programs to employees? is understood and leveraged. When we engage exxonmobil employees, retirees, and their fami- Leadership begins at the top. at exxonmobil, with an nGo or community partner, we bring lies donated $31 million through exxonmobil’s the management team and I focus on the need to the partnership our management expertise, higher education and cultural matching-gifts to be active and involved citizens in the com- engineering know-how, monitoring and evalu- and employee-giving campaigns.

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