- Exxon faced a devastating 2020. The oil titan saw profit evaporate as oil prices crashed, and it was forced to slash spending and cut jobs.
- Behind those tough decisions is what some employees have referred to as the God Pod, Exxon's executive suite.
- At the top are CEO Darren Woods and three other members of the company's management committee. All four men, who are white, have been with the company for decades.
- We mapped out the executives they oversee in an exclusive org chart and lay out the challenges that lie ahead.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Exxon Mobil, like most large oil companies, faced a number of tough decisions in 2020. After the price of crude collapsed in March and April, the firm slashed capital spending by more than $10 billion, cut thousands of workers, and wrote down billions more in assets.
Behind those decisions is what some employees have referred to as the "God Pod" — Exxon's executive wing at the company's headquarters. The name is a reference to the top floors of the office that the group occupies, and it's been used to describe the company's leadership style.
"The executive wing of Exxon Mobil's headquarters outside Dallas is nicknamed the God Pod because orders given by executives there can sometimes be as sharp as thunderbolts," longtime New York Times energy reporter Clifford Krauss wrote in 2017.
At the top is CEO Darren Woods, who's led the company since 2017, along with three other members of Exxon's management committee: Neil Chapman, Andrew Swiger, and Jack Williams. Together, they have an average tenure of nearly 35 years. They oversee Exxon's second tier of executives including vice presidents and division leads.
All four members of the management committee are white men. 18% of Exxon's US executives are minorities, as of 2019, the company says on its website.
This is an interactive chart. Click on an executive to see the employees they oversee.
Are we missing information or do you have a tip about Exxon? Reach out to this reporter at bjones@businessinsider.com.
While God Pod is no longer a term that employees throw around, the idea may still be fitting. Three current and former employees we spoke to described the top echelon as all-powerful and untouchable. Loyalty and secrecy are rewarded, they said.
"Senior global management is like divinity: very few have access," a current employee in Exxon's fuels and lubricants division said.
The employees requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. Business Insider has verified their identities. Exxon declined to comment on its leadership.
A test for Exxon's leaders
This year is already proving to be much better than the last for Exxon's top brass. The firm's stock is up about 35%, and investors appear to be warming to the company.
Yet steep challenges still stand in the way of the oil giant's recovery.
Morale is down, for one. Executives were not forthright with employees about the toll the downturn would take on its workforce and, at times, came across as insensitive when they did communicate about job cuts, as Insider previously reported. That's left some employees frustrated.
Meanwhile, investors are pressing the company to rein in long-term spending, make changes to its board, and invest more in clean energy. The firm has responded by revising down capex, announcing new climate-related targets, and launching a new low-carbon business.
Mapping the power structure at Exxon
Exxon's management committee began tinkering with the company's structure before the pandemic struck. They reorganized the firm's downstream division in 2018 and the upstream division in 2019. That year, they also established a new business unit — Global Projects — focused on project development.
When the price of oil crashed, Exxon said those changes helped, but further cuts would be needed.
"I wish I could say we were finished, but we are not," Woods said in an email to employees in October. "We still have some significant headwinds, more work to do and, unfortunately, further reductions are necessary."
Today, Exxon is organized into nine trimmed-down business divisions. It's not clear to what extent the company's core structure changed, if at all, in response to the spending and workforce cuts. (Exxon declined to comment on the organization chart we shared.)
We mapped out those divisions, in addition to seven other core areas of the company, in the chart above. The chart includes Exxon's newly formed Low Carbon Solutions business, which will be run by a former Exxon Chemical Co. employee. In total, we counted 136 employees.
The information provided in the graphic above is based on dozens of internal documents, such as organization charts and address books, obtained by Insider, in addition to conversations with current and former employees. The information is current to the best of our knowledge.
This story was originally published on January 26. It was updated on March 3 to reflect that Neil Duffin will retire, effective April 1. He will be replaced by Jon Gibbs.
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