Hootan Yazhari — Board Member Accountability Profile
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Hootan Yazhari — Board Member Accountability Profile

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Hootan Yazhari — Board Member Accountability Profile

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Category: Private Citizen — Corporate Director Role: Independent Director, ExxonMobil Corporation Board Tenure: 2021 – present Committee Memberships: Finance Committee; Science and Technology Committee Profile Type: Board Member Accountability — Anchor B (Documented Organizational Leadership)

> Basis for Inclusion: Hootan Yazhari holds a documented governance role at ExxonMobil Corporation, the largest U.S. oil and gas company by market capitalization, which made documented political donations to Trump-aligned entities. ExxonMobil’s business is significantly affected by federal energy policy, offshore drilling regulations, environmental permitting, carbon pricing, and U.S. trade policy on oil and gas exports — all areas where the Trump administration reversed Biden-era policies. This profile documents the factual governance relationship, not the subject’s personal political views.

> Subject Classification: Private Citizen / Corporate Director. Board membership is a matter of public record.

> What is NOT the basis for inclusion: Personal political opinions, party affiliation, or protected speech are NOT the basis for inclusion.

Biographical Overview

Hootan Yazhari is a financial and energy transition specialist with extensive experience in emerging markets energy finance. He served as a Managing Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he led the Global Frontier Markets investment banking practice with a focus on energy and infrastructure projects across Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Yazhari was added to ExxonMobil’s board in 2021 following pressure from Engine No. 1, the activist hedge fund that successfully placed three dissident directors on ExxonMobil’s board by winning a landmark shareholder proxy fight that year — one of the most significant activist investor victories in corporate history. His background in energy transition finance makes him one of the newer independent voices on a board historically resistant to rapid emissions reduction strategies.

Board Role and Governance Authority

  • Company: ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM)
  • Board tenure: 2021 – present (Engine No. 1 slate)
  • Committee assignments: Finance Committee; Science and Technology Committee
  • Governance note: Yazhari was one of three directors elected via the Engine No. 1 activist campaign targeting ExxonMobil’s climate strategy and capital allocation.

Other Current Board Memberships

  • Information not publicly confirmed in available sources; verify via current SEC filings

Parent Corporate Donor Profile

This profile is a governance-accountability companion to the ExxonMobil corporate donor profile.

Sources

  • ExxonMobil Corporation DEF 14A Proxy Statement, 2025; SEC EDGAR
  • Engine No. 1 ExxonMobil proxy campaign filings and press releases, 2021
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