Lee Raymond
Lee Raymond | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 13, 1938 Watertown, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Occupation | Corporate executive |
| Years active | 1963–2005 |
| Known for | CEO and chairman of ExxonMobil (1999–2005) |
Lee Roy Raymond (born August 13, 1938) is an American corporate leader who held the positions of CEO and chairman at ExxonMobil from 1999 until 2005, having previously served as CEO of Exxon starting in 1993. He began his career with Exxon in 1963, was appointed a director in 1984, and advanced to president by 1987.
Throughout his leadership, Raymond was a vocal critic of regulatory efforts aimed at curbing global warming, despite internal research at Exxon confirming human impact on climate change—a point of contention featured in the PBS Frontline film "The Power of Big Oil."
Early life and education
Raymond was born in Watertown, South Dakota and completed his secondary education at Watertown High School in 1956. He obtained a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1960 and later earned a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota, which honored him with an honorary doctorate in 2001. During his time at Wisconsin, he met Charlene Hocevar, who went on to earn a degree in journalism.
Career
Starting at Exxon in 1963, Raymond rose through the ranks to become a director by 1984 and president three years later. He took over as CEO in 1993, following Lawrence G. Rawl. Raymond played a key role in orchestrating the significant merger with Mobil that took effect on January 1, 2000, forming ExxonMobil. As he neared ExxonMobil’s mandatory retirement age of 65 in 2003, the board extended his leadership by two years to manage the post-merger integration. He stepped down at the close of 2005, with Rex W. Tillerson succeeding him as CEO on January 1, 2006.
His retirement compensation was reported to be approximately $400 million, marking it as the largest package for a U.S. publicly traded company at that time. The majority consisted of salary, bonuses, stock options, and restricted stock grants accumulated during his final years, while retirement-specific benefits accounted for roughly $100 million, reflecting over forty years of service. Raymond also served as chairman of the National Petroleum Council during its evaluation of future oil supply and demand dynamics.
Recognized for his firm opposition to climate change regulations, Raymond challenged the prevailing scientific consensus throughout the 1990s, labeling the evidence as “inconclusive” and characterizing the argument for global warming as “far from air tight.”
Following his departure from ExxonMobil, Raymond joined JPMorgan Chase as lead independent director in 2005. However, due to increasing scrutiny regarding his climate change views, JPMorgan Chase removed him from this position in 2020.
Legacy
Steve Coll portrays Raymond as "famously skeptical about climate change and opposed to government intervention at any level." In the BBC documentary Big Oil v the World, Professor Martin Hoffert—who once consulted for Exxon on climate matters—denounced Raymond’s publication Climate Change: Don't Ignore the Facts as "nonsense" and "ethically... truly reprehensible."
During Raymond’s tenure, Exxon was among the last major corporations to omit sexual orientation from its anti-discrimination policies. After merging with Mobil, Mobil’s existing protections against discrimination were eliminated. It was not until 2015 that ExxonMobil updated its policy to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, following numerous rejected shareholder proposals over several years.
Raymond’s son, John T. Raymond, is engaged in the oil and gas industry and collaborated with Vulcan Capital on acquiring Plains Resources.
In recognition of his corporate contributions, Lee Raymond received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in 2003.
Awards and distinctions
- 1998 Golden Plate Award presented by the American Academy of Achievement
- 2003 Woodrow Wilson Award granted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
- Inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2006
- In 2006, Exxon Mobil Corporation established a $2.5 million scholarship fund in honor of Lee R. Raymond
- Received the Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 for contributions to International Energy Policy and Diplomacy
See also
Dissertation
- Raymond, Lee Roy. An Analytical Study of the Transient Behavior and Stability of Tubular Reactors and Catalyst Particles, University of Minnesota, 1963.
Articles
- World Energy Magazine – The Future of Energy in Emerging Asia
- World Energy Magazine – The United Kingdom Leads Europe’s Growing Import Demand
Additional resources
- SEC Proxy Statement outlining Raymond's retirement compensation, SEC
- Enemy of the Planet, article by Paul Krugman in the New York Times, April 17, 2006
- Scientists offered cash to dispute climate study, Guardian article authored by Ian Sample, February 2, 2007
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1938 births
- Living people
- American chief executives
- American Enterprise Institute
- American chemical engineers
- ExxonMobil people
- University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni
- University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering alumni
- Directors of JPMorgan Chase
- Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
- Minnesota CEMS