The little engine that could stood up to Big Oil and ExxonMobil
Exxon’s determination to ‘defend the returns’ turned out to be no match for Engine No 1, which wants to defend addressing the climate crisis
Houston/Boston — Last December, when a week-old hedge fund named Engine No 1 challenged ExxonMobil 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-$40m stake in what was once the world’s largest publicly traded company.
Just six months later, the fund delivered a huge 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...
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