Wan Zulkiflee, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Petronas, Malaysia’s national oil and Gas Company, was appointed to serve on ExxonMobil’s Board of Directors. According to the oil major, the former CEO had served Petronas from 2015 to 2020, during which time, he led strategic growth and efficiency initiatives. He was also responsible for the company’s entry into specialty chemicals and spearheaded multiple years of strong results while furthering the company’s investments in lower-emission technologies.
ExxonMobil said too that Wan Zulkiflee is currently non-executive Chairman of the Boards of Malaysia Airlines Berhad and DRB-HICOM Berhad, while adding that he is involved in a number of initiatives dedicated to education and public sector leadership.
Prior to leaving Petronas, Wan Zulkiflee was a staunch advocate for corporate integrity as he championed several initiatives that served to keep corruption at bay. One such measure he was instrumental in bringing on board is Petronas’ whistle-blowing policy and procedures, which has become a more preferred channel for registering complaints on actions, deemed, or perceived to be unethical.
He also played a key role in ensuring Petronas introduce a “no gift policy” that prohibits the receiving and offering of gifts to avoid conflict of interest in ongoing or potential business dealings between Petronas and external parties. The former CEO also paved the way for Petronas to develop and implement an anti-bribery and corruption policy and manual. This was followed by a series of anti-bribery training.
As he welcomed the new Board Member, ExxonMobil’s Chairman and CEO, Darren Woods, stated that Wan Zulkiflee’s global industry expertise coupled with his insights related to the energy transition will surely complement the company’s highly experienced board.
With the election of Wan Zulkiflee, the ExxonMobil board will increase to 11 directors, 10 of whom are independent directors. In recent years, Exxon said it has pursued additional board expertise in the areas of climate science, asset and risk management, and relevant industry experience. In fact, five independent directors have been appointed since 2016.
OilNOW understands that the average director tenure for the ExxonMobil Board is under six years, compared to an average of eight years for companies in the S&P 500.
