Dive Brief:

• ExxonMobil CFO Kathryn Mikells will retire from the oil and gas company’s top finance seat effective Feb. 1, citing health issues, the company said in a securities filing. Company veteran Neil Hansen, president of ExxonMobil’s global business solutions, will succeed Mikells as CFO also effective Feb. 1, the company said.
• “In recent months, Ms. Mikells has undergone a series of procedures and surgeries to address a debilitating but non-life-threatening health issue,” the company said in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “She has decided to retire from the Corporation to focus full-time on her recovery.”
• Mikells’ decision to retire “has obviously been a tough one for Kathy and for many of us across the company who care about her and I will tell you that I will definitely miss having her by my side,” ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Darren Woods said Tuesday during the company’s business update to its ongoing corporate strategy stretching to 2030. “During her nearly 5-year tenure, Kathy has strengthened the finance organization and really helped in the development of our talent pipeline and succession plans.”

Dive Insight:

Mikells will work closely with Hansen — who has served a 25-year tenure at the business — to ensure a smooth transition, Woods said. Her last earnings call will be Exxon’s fourth quarter earnings report, set to take place early next year, he said.

The past year has been a “challenging one” for Mikells, she said on the Tuesday call, according to a transcript, noting things are getting better, but that it’s been “slow-going.” She has served as finance chief for the energy firm since 2021, according to her LinkedIn profile. Before joining Spring, Texas-based Exxon, she served as CFO for spirit company Diageo, and has held CFO roles for Xerox, ADT, and United Airlines — logging a 16-year career at the airline.

“I care deeply about our role in society and the people that we serve across the globe. Sadly, it became clear to me in recent weeks that my love for this company meant I had to step aside and let someone who could focus full time on the CFO role take over,” she said of her decision to step down. “I'm absolutely delighted that, that person is Neil Hansen.”

Hansen, 51, has served in a variety of executive and management roles during his over two-decade tenure with Exxon, taking his current position as president of its global business solutions in May. His past roles include serving as senior vice president, energy products for its product solutions company, VP, Europe, Africa and Middle East fuels, and as VP, investor relations and corporate secretary, according to the SEC filing.

Hansen is set to receive a $1.02 million base salary in association with his appointment as CFO, according to the filing. He will continue to be eligible for long-term and bonus equity grants, dependent on both company and individual performance.

Hansen has been “groomed for this role for many years, and he's really set himself apart as the right person to succeed me,” Mikells said. “I am very certain that he's going to continue the good work of the finance leadership team that has begun to really build a world-class organization.”

Alongside its CFO swap announcement Tuesday, Exxon provided updates to its 2030 corporate plan. The gas company raised its outlook to $25 billion in earnings growth, as well as $35 billion in cash flow growth for the period between 2024 to 2030, a bump of $5 billion for both metrics, according to the update. Exxon has also delivered $14 billion in cost savings since 2019 as of the end of its third quarter, and expects to achieve $20 billion in structural cost savings by 2030, according to the update.

Exxon expects to hit those figures without any increase in its capital expenditures, Woods said Tuesday. To help sustain growth in its traditional businesses, Exxon plans to reinvest approximately 40% of its total cash flow from operations through 2030 as cash capital expenditures, he said.

“Through 2030, we expect our earnings, cash flow, and return on capital employed will far exceed the results of our competitors and provide a strong foundation for growing shareholder value far beyond what our industry has historically delivered,” Woods said.

Exxon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the move.