Darren Wayne Woods is an American businessman born on December 16, 1965.
Darren Wayne Woods is an American businessman born on December 16, 1965. ◦ He has served as the chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil since January 1, 2017, becoming the company's 23rd President and 16th Chairman, succeeding Rex Tillerson after Tillerson's nomination as U.S. Secretary of State. ◦ Woods earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University, followed by an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. ◦ He joined Exxon in 1992 and worked there for 24 years before his promotion to CEO. ◦ Prior to becoming CEO, he managed the refining and chemical divisions, which delivered the majority of ExxonMobil's $7.8 billion net income in 2016. ◦ His career timeline at ExxonMobil includes Vice President and President of ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Company (2012-2014), Senior Vice President (2014-2015), President (2016 to present), and Chair & CEO (2017 to present). ◦ He is a member of the National Petroleum Council, the Business Roundtable, former Chair of the American Petroleum Institute, and a Trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ◦
Woods's core leadership philosophy is to "do the right thing in the right way." ◦ He recounts the advice: "If you're ever doing something, you'd be embarrassed for your mother to read about on the front page of the paper, stop doing it," adding "You got to get up every morning, look yourself in the mirror, make sure you like what you see." ◦ On the energy transition, he says: "Let's find a way to do it in a practical, responsible, thoughtful way that doesn't jeopardize people's standards of living, that doesn't compromise economic growth." ◦ He adds that "there are solutions out there today where you can begin to decarbonize what you already have – do it at a much lower cost, do it much faster, and get a much bigger impact." ◦ Woods tells students: "Don't chase the title or the money. Chase what gives you satisfaction, and success will follow," grounded in self-knowledge: "To thy own self be true. You need to understand what motivates you and what you're passionate about." ◦ On meritocracy, he tells students: "Everyone who walks in the door has the potential to be the next CEO," and "Our job in the company is to help you reach that potential or whatever aspirations you have." ◦ He names this his favorite part of the job: "Seeing our people push the envelope and succeed." ◦
Woods emphasizes "courage of conviction," stating: "You've got to have courage of conviction," and "I've always made sure that everybody understands my point of view, whether you agree with it or not." ◦ On net zero, he is blunt about cost: "The dirty secret and nobody talks about is how much is all this going to cost and who's willing to pay for it," and "There is not a viable market where consumers step in and are willing to pay a premium for low carbon products." ◦ He argues policy should replace rhetoric with quantitative rigor: "We've got to move away from governments and politicians talking in aspirational terms and roll your sleeves up and start doing real math," and "if you price carbon, put a carbon price out there...that will drive the markets to start innovating." ◦ On the company's mission, he says: "Our job is to basically take our capabilities and address the needs of society. And as those needs evolve, so do our business," while stressing the scale problem: "You've got to come back to the size of the existing energy system today. It is big. It will take time to replace." ◦ Announcing ExxonMobil's 2030 plan, he said the company's approach is "a formula for profitable growth and shareholder value through and beyond 2030 – no matter the pace and scale of the energy transition – that truly puts us in a league of our own," adding "when we list our capital allocation priorities, investing in accretive growth always comes first." ◦
Woods operates with an engineering problem-solving framework, stating: "Engineering teaches you how to think. It's hard, it requires discipline and problem-solving." ◦ He applies a depletion model to the oil business, noting: "We're in a depletion business. So every barrel you produce is a barrel less available." ◦ He views resilience as a cycle of recovery: "you will get knocked down. No shame in being knocked down," but "There's a lot of shame in not getting back up again." ◦ He applies an ethical mirror test: "You got to get up every morning, look yourself in the mirror, make sure you like what you see." ◦ He sees market innovation driven by price signals, arguing that "if you price carbon, put a carbon price out there...that will drive the markets to start innovating." ◦ He conceptualizes the energy system as massive and slow to change: "You've got to come back to the size of the existing energy system today. It is big. It will take time to replace." ◦
Woods earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University. ◦ Prior to becoming CEO, he managed the refining and chemical divisions, which delivered the majority of ExxonMobil's $7.8 billion net income in 2016. ◦ Regarding Peak Oil, he stated that horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has "shattered the Peak Oil myth." ◦ He frames the oil business as a depletion business where "every barrel you produce is a barrel less available," and notes the decline rate of global crude supply is "15 million barrels a day" absent new investment. ◦ He projects that oil and gas will remain "around 50% of the world's energy mix, even out in 2050," because it is "a critical component to chemical products." ◦ He says: "Engineering teaches you how to think. It's hard, it requires discipline and problem-solving," which is why "we like hiring engineers." ◦
Woods frames the durability of demand with specific projections: "You're going to continue to need oil and gas...still around 50% of the world's energy mix, even out in 2050," and notes oil and gas will not go away because it is "a critical component to chemical products." ◦ On the nature of the oil business, he says: "We're in a depletion business. So every barrel you produce is a barrel less available," and notes the decline rate of global crude supply is "15 million barrels a day" absent new investment. ◦ On resilience, he says: "Resilience is...you will get knocked down. No shame in being knocked down," adding "There's a lot of shame in not getting back up again. And so, fight your way back up." ◦ Speaking to engineering students, he says: "Engineering teaches you how to think. It's hard, it requires discipline and problem-solving," which is why "we like hiring engineers." ◦
Woods advocates for decarbonizing existing assets, stating "there are solutions out there today where you can begin to decarbonize what you already have," ◦ while simultaneously arguing that "There is not a viable market where consumers step in and are willing to pay a premium for low carbon products." ◦ He pushes for a practical energy transition that "doesn't jeopardize people's standards of living, that doesn't compromise economic growth," ◦ yet projects that oil and gas will remain "around 50% of the world's energy mix, even out in 2050." ◦ He has stated that horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has "shattered the Peak Oil myth," ◦ while also warning that the global crude supply decline rate is "15 million barrels a day" absent new investment. ◦
Woods expects clarity of conviction: "I've always made sure that everybody understands my point of view, whether you agree with it or not," ◦ and values "courage of conviction." ◦ He responds to quantitative rigor over aspirational language, arguing: "We've got to move away from governments and politicians talking in aspirational terms and roll your sleeves up and start doing real math." ◦ He favors engineering-style discipline and problem-solving, noting: "Engineering teaches you how to think. It's hard, it requires discipline and problem-solving," which is why "we like hiring engineers." ◦ He respects meritocratic potential, telling students: "Everyone who walks in the door has the potential to be the next CEO." ◦