ExxonMobil announced this week the election of Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, former Petronas president and Group CEO, to its board of directors.

In his role as president and CEO at Petronas, Wan Zulkiflee led strategic growth and efficiency initiatives, and the company’s entry into specialty chemicals. During his tenure, Petronas reported multiple years of strong results and furthered the company’s investments in lower-emission technologies.

Wan Zulkiflee is currently non-executive chairman of the boards of Malaysia Airlines Berhad and DRB-HICOM Berhad, and he is involved in a number of initiatives dedicated to education and public sector leadership.

“We welcome Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee to our board,” said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer. “His global industry expertise coupled with his insights related to the energy transition will complement our highly experienced board.”

With the election of Wan Zulkiflee, the ExxonMobil board will increase to 11 directors, 10 of whom are independent directors. In recent years the company has pursued additional board expertise in the areas of climate science, asset and risk management, and relevant industry experience. Five independent directors have been appointed since 2016. The average director tenure for the ExxonMobil Board is under six years, compared to an average of eight years for companies in the S&P 500.

ExxonMobil said that it continues discussions with other director candidates with a range of skills sets for potential addition to its board, as part of its ongoing refreshment process. The board expects to take further action in the near term.

KeyFacts Energy: ExxonMobil US country profile