Three years ago, in December 2020, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, Lee Raymond, announced his retirement from the board of JPMorgan Chase, where he had served as the lead independent director for nearly two decades. It seemed like a forced move; some had questioned Raymond’s reappointment earlier that year, in May 2020, with proxy adviser Glass Lewis urging shareholders to vote against it, as his age was already beyond JPMorgan’s board retirement limit. Another adviser, ISS, was more diplomatic when it said “new independent oversight is necessary”.
Others were concerned, though for different reasons. Climate activists’ grievance was about the former oil boss’s influence on one of the world’s largest lenders. Even New York City’s then comptroller, Scott Stringer, seemed to lament the link, though his former office told The Banker that the main concern was about Raymond’s compensation.
